Difficult resumption of negotiations between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam, the future largest dam in Africa built by Ethiopia. An agreement on sharing the waters of the Nile still seems a long way off. The many discussions in 2020 have not produced any consensus. They have often been interrupted several times because of disagreements between the parties. On Sunday 3 January, a new attempt was made. And the start of the negotiations remains tense.
The Egyptian, Sudanese and Ethiopian ministers gave themselves a week to negotiate a new text and try to answer this eternal question: at what rate should Ethiopia fill the reservoir of its dam without hindering the flow of the Nile for the two countries downstream
The preliminary discussion took place yesterday, Sunday, January 3, in the presence of the African Union, which once again succeeded in bringing the three countries around the same table, which is far from obvious in the current context. Indeed, tension is rising between Addis Ababa and Khartoum after clashes between their two armies at the border. Addis Ababa which, moreover, also accuses Cairo of destabilizing the region.
An agreement is still far from being reached. Worse, the divisions are visible even before the start of negotiations. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Ethiopian government points the finger at Egypt, which has categorically rejected the document presented by experts of the African Union on the conduct of discussions.
But in Cairo, on the contrary, the importance of reaching an agreement to avoid the setback of 2020, when Ethiopia had decided unilaterally to fill part of the reservoir of its dam. The three countries met on Sunday 10 January to present their conclusions.