- The UN Security Council today encouraged Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations, at the invitation of the African Union Chairperson, on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project, with a view to finalizing the text of a mutually acceptable agreement on filling and operating the dam “within a reasonable time frame”.
- Meanwhile Egypt recently announced that it will tender for 17 new build deslaination plants in anticipation of the possibility of water shortages in the country. Read more
Map indicating Blue Nile and location of the Grand Renaissance Dam. Credit: GBA
In a presidential statement, the 15-member organ noted the Agreement on the Declaration of Principles on the project concluded by the three countries in 2015. It encouraged observers invited to the African Union-led negotiations — and any other observers that Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan may consensually decide to jointly invite — to continue to support the discussions with a view to facilitating the resolution of outstanding technical and legal issues.
Related news: Plans for a dam across the nile triggered a war in 1956. Will it happen again?
The Council called upon the three countries to take forward the African Union-led process in a construction and cooperative manner. It also underscored that this statement does not set out principles or precedent in any transboundary water disputes.
When complete, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Hydro Dam Project will have an installed capacity of 6,450MW – more than doubling Ethiopia’s existing capacity – and is the centrepiece of the country’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
