Egypt and Ethiopia have been in a long-standing feud over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). According to the dam’s Egyptian mandate, tensions have escalated since Ethiopia announced that it has unilaterally started filling the reservoir.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, in his joint press conference at Cairo, said there is an immediate need to resolve the issues with Ethiopia regarding the dam. He also stressed, in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, that Egypt must also extend its support to resolve the crisis.
The Sudanese counterpart also discussed several issues with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on his visit. Hamdok said that Egypt has been cooperative in taking the initiative in resolving the issues with Ethiopia regarding GERD. On the other hand, Madbouly said that Egypt is not opposed to Ethiopia’s development, but their development should not harm Egypt and Sudan’s interests.
Early in the day, European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell also tweeted about his talks with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry regarding the dam. Last month, Egypt said that it has endorsed internationalizing the years-long dispute with Ethiopia over the dam that Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister said that Cairo supports the formation of an international quartet that includes the US, EU, UN, and the African Union to reach a deal regarding GERD’s filling and operation. The dispute revolves around how much water Ethiopia will be released downstream if a drought occurs and how these three countries will settle down this dispute.
