Sudan expressed its concern on the controversial Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD), saying that the country is the nation most harmed from realizing this ambitious project. Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the importance of continuing with negotiations on a dam.
Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia are still trying to find the common ground on the utilization of the Nile dam. The Sudanese officials, including the foreign minister Mohamed Sherif Abdallah, insist on continuing of negotiations as the only means to resolving the disagreements between the parties involved in the issue.
All three countries demanded the “equal utilisation of the Nile Basin” using the pretext that some countries, especially Kenya and Tanzania, needed more water resources. Three countries —Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia — threatened to build dams and barrages on the Nile that would reduce the volume of water reaching Egypt.
AS Abdallah said, Khartoum will continue with its efforts to explain its stance and the dangers that Sudan and its people and strategic installations are being subjected to.
The Sudanese top diplomat reiterated his nation’s commitment to the African Union’s mediation efforts, and its hopes that such efforts result in a deal that all parties commit to.
Ethiopia is building a $5 billion dam near the border with Sudan it says will provide the country with much-needed electricity and economic regeneration. Egypt, almost entirely dependent on Nile water, believes it will restrict its access to river waters. Moreover, Cairo fears that filling the GERD will affect the water it needs for drinking, agriculture and electricity.
While Cairo wants Ethiopia to guarantee Egypt will receive 40 billion cubic metres of water from the Nile, Ethiopia said Egypt has abandoned this demand, but Egypt insists it hasn’t and issued a statement to this effect.
There is another unresolved issue over how fast the GERD will be filled, with Egypt fearing if it is filled too quickly, it could affect the electricity generated by the Aswan High Dam.
