Egypt on Tuesday called for the suspension of ongoing negotiations with Sudan and Ethiopia over the controversial construction of a mega-dam by Addis Ababa on the Nile.
“Egypt and Sudan have requested that meetings be suspended so that internal consultations can be held on the Ethiopian proposal, which goes against what was decided at the African Union summit on July 21 » , Announced the Egyptian Ministry of Water.
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This decision comes at the end of a meeting between the technical and legal committees of the three countries concerned by the construction of the Great Renaissance Dam (Gerd), a source of persistent tensions since 2011.
Ethiopia presented a draft agreement to Egypt and Sudan in which the issue of dam management is not mentioned, said Cairo, lamenting that the Ethiopian proposal does not include a legal mechanism. settlement of disputes.
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Observers from the United States and the European Union as well as experts from the African Union were also present at this meeting.
Sudan, for its part, threatened to withdraw from the talks, deeming Ethiopia's desire to link the talks to a renegotiation of an agreement on sharing the waters of the Blue Nile unacceptable. "This is an important development and a change in the Ethiopian position," said Sudanese Minister of Water and Irrigation Yasser Abbas.
"This new Ethiopian position threatens the negotiations under the aegis of the African Union and Sudan will not participate in negotiations which include the subject of sharing the water of the Blue Nile" . "Sudan will not accept that the lives of 20 million citizens living along the Blue Nile are linked to an agreement on the sharing of water from this river," he added in a statement.
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