Talks Around the GERD Stall Again

Egypt has decided to withdraw from the latest round of tripartite negotiations over Ethiopia’s multibillion-dollar dam on the Blue Nile for internal consultations after Addis Ababa proposed a new draft of filling guidelines. The Egyptian water ministry, in a statement on Tuesday, said Ethiopia put forward a draft proposal that lacked regulations on the operation of the dam or any legal obligations. Addis Ababa’s draft also lacked a legal mechanism for settling disputes, according to the Egyptian ministry. Meanwhile, Sudan’s irrigation ministry said the latest Ethiopian position presented in talks on Tuesday raised new fears over the track the negotiations had been on. Khartoum also threatened to withdraw from the talks, saying Ethiopia insisted on linking them to renegotiating a deal on sharing the waters of the Blue Nile. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is being built about 15km from the Ethiopian border with Sudan on the Blue Nile, has become a major sticking point between the three countries.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA