A new round of talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over a disputed dam over the Nile River has been held in Cairo this week, after talks on the issue have been deadlocked for months, Reuters reported.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri met his Sudanese counterpart Dardari Mohammed Ahmed to address fears expressed by Egypt. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the ministerial committee meeting.
Cairo fears that the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam — a $4.7 billion-hydroelectric project — will reduce waters that run to its fields and reservoirs from Ethiopia’s highlands.
According to the Egyptian Foreign Minister, it is necessary to accelerate the pace of negotiations with Ethiopia so that “this goes in the common interest of all countries, especially after all the time that has already passed”.
Ethiopia began constructing the dam in 2011. It plans to fill the reservoir with water to power what is expected to become the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa.
Addis Ababa hopes the dam will make it a hub for the electricity-hungry region and denies it will undermine Egypt’s access to water.
Ties between Egypt and Sudan got sour when Khartoum backed the dam construction because of its own electricity needs.