admin
KINSHASA. – A new round of African Union-mediated talks between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan has begun aimed at resolving a years-long dispute over a massive dam built by Addis Ababa on the Blue Nile, a main tributary of the Nile river.
The three-day talks that kicked off on Saturday are taking place in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the current chair of the AU.
Foreign and irrigation ministers of the three nations were attending the talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), along with AU experts, according to Ethiopia’s Irrigation Minister Seleshi Bekele. Egypt’s foreign ministry said that Cairo wants the negotiations to lead to a legally binding agreement over the operation and filling of the dam’s giant reservoir.
Sudan said it would take part in the Kinshasa round with an aim of agreeing on a “negotiating approach” to ensure the talks would be constructive. That would include an Egyptian-backed Sudanese proposal for the United States, European Union and United Nations to actively mediate in the dispute, along with the AU. Ethiopia has rejected the proposal, saying it “believes in resolving African problems by Africans”. – Al Jazeera.
Online Reporter