“GERD”: Ethiopia Calls for “Dialogue”
Sudan Events – Agencies
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on Egypt and Sudan to engage in dialogue over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue. This comes as Cairo insists on the need to reach a legally binding agreement to prevent any potential harm to the two downstream countries from the dam, which Addis Ababa is constructing on the main tributary of the Nile River.
Egypt had previously announced the suspension of negotiations over the GERD, accusing Ethiopia of “intransigence” throughout 13 years of talks.
Amid the deadlock in negotiations, Abiy Ahmed called for “dialogue with the two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan.” In a statement on Thursday, he asserted that “the GERD will ensure the continuous flow of water throughout the year once completed and will not harm the two downstream countries.”
Ethiopia’s call for dialogue coincided with a visit by the Egyptian Foreign Minister to Tanzania, where he met with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and delivered a written message from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Abdel Aty reaffirmed “Egypt’s support for development in the Nile Basin based on the principle of mutual benefit and avoiding harm.” He also highlighted “Egypt’s establishment of an investment mechanism for water and development projects in the southern Nile Basin countries.”
Earlier, Abdel Aty had inspected the Tanzanian “Julius Nyerere Dam” project on Thursday, which is being constructed by a consortium of Egyptian companies. The visit was attended by Tanzanian officials, parliamentarians from both countries, and executives from the Egyptian companies involved in the project. He described the project as “a model for cooperation between upstream and downstream countries on hydropower dam projects in the Nile Basin.”
A consortium of major Egyptian companies has been building the Julius Nyerere Dam and a 2,115 MW hydroelectric power station since 2018. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry noted that “around 99.9% of the project has been completed, with 8 out of 9 turbines already operational.”
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Assistant Foreign Minister and Director of the Sudan and South Sudan Affairs Department, Ambassador Yasser Sorour, affirmed that “Cairo’s efforts to reach a legally binding agreement with Ethiopia and Sudan over the GERD remain ongoing.”
Speaking to the press on Wednesday evening, Sorour stated that “there is coordination between Egypt and Sudan regarding the Nile waters and the Ethiopian dam.” He emphasized that Egypt continues its diplomatic efforts “despite 13 years of good-faith negotiations without reaching an agreement due to Addis Ababa’s lack of political will.”
Despite Egypt’s insistence on a legally binding agreement over the Ethiopian dam, Egyptian diplomats and parliamentarians downplayed the seriousness of Abiy Ahmed’s call for dialogue, suggesting that it “does not reflect a genuine intention from the Ethiopian government to negotiate and reach an agreement.”
Ambassador Mohamed El-Orabi, Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, described Abiy Ahmed’s invitation as “inconsistent with Ethiopia’s intentions and actions regarding the GERD issue.” He said the Ethiopian Prime Minister’s remarks “do not indicate any movement in the stalled negotiation process.”
In his statement, Abiy Ahmed also mentioned that “Ethiopia does not seek to go to war with Eritrea to secure access to a seaport.” He added that “gaining access to the Red Sea is an existential necessity, but it should be pursued through dialogue and peace with Eritrea and Somalia.”
Egyptian journalist and Senate member Abdel Moneim Said linked Addis Ababa’s push for access to a seaport with Abiy Ahmed’s call for dialogue on the GERD. He suggested that “Abiy Ahmed is seeking to engage with Egypt through dialogue due to the challenges his government faces in securing access to a seaport, after failing in his attempts with Somalia and Eritrea, and Cairo’s opposition to any non-littoral state’s presence on the Red Sea coast.”
However, Said argued in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat that Abiy Ahmed’s expression of willingness to engage in dialogue with Cairo and Khartoum is “not sufficient for Egypt to engage seriously.” He stressed that “it must be followed by actions and messages that demonstrate Ethiopia’s genuine intention to resume negotiations and commit to international legal norms governing the management of international rivers.” He added that “Egypt’s concerns remain, especially during drought years, which could affect its annual share of Nile waters.”
Egypt had already pursued dialogue over the Ethiopian dam for more than a decade during the project’s construction phase, according to Amira Saber, Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Egyptian Parliament. She said that “Cairo adhered to dialogue despite Ethiopia’s intransigence and unilateral actions in continuing construction and filling the dam over the past years without reaching a legal agreement.”
With Ethiopia now having completed the filling of the dam’s reservoir, Amira Saber believes that “Egypt’s position should become more assertive.”
