Ethiopia and Sudan impede progress in GERD technical talks: Egypt’s FM
May 7, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry accused Egypt and Sudan of impeding process in the technical talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) after the failure of a recent meeting in Addis Ababa.
The three countries held a technical meeting including irrigation ministers and experts in Addis Ababa on 5 May to discuss their difference over a report by French consulting firms over the GERD impact on the water shares of the downstream countries.
Speaking in a press conference with Sam Kutesa Ugandan foreign minister in Cairo, Shoukry said the meeting failed to reach an agreement over the technical report because Ethiopia and Sudan maintain their rejection of the report,
“The stalemate in the (technical) talks that have been going on for more than a year is due to the continued reservation expressed by Sudan and Ethiopia about the preliminary report of the French firm,” he said.
The minister said he looked forward to the two States’ acceptance of the report.
He further said the negotiations dealt extensively with many issues. He pointed out that Egypt had put forward several ideas to break the stalemate, including resorting to the World Bank to have its opinion on the outstanding issues.
He stressed the issue not political, but technical and scientific, and therefore should be dealt with at the same level and accept the opinion of experts.
The minister said there will be a new meeting in Ethiopia on May 15 at the level of the ministerial committee on the GERD including foreign affairs and irrigation ministers and heads of security and intelligence services in the three countries.
He asserted Egypt keenness to build confidence and to consider Ethiopian interests and development plans, as provided in the principles agreement signed by the leaders of the three countries in March 2015 in Khartoum.
(ST)