2nd round trilateral talks on GERD underway in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa, September 23, 2023 (FBC) – The second round of tripartite negotiation on the water filling and annual operations of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) kicked off today, September 23, 2023, in Addis Ababa. The three countries are expected to resume their discussions on the draft guidelines and rules.
The Addis Ababa leg of the trilateral meeting between the delegations of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan has been scheduled during the first round of negotiations held last month in Cairo where the parties, according to MFA Ethiopia, exchanged views to reach a win-win situation.
The latest tripartite negotiations resumed following the bilateral consultation between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt in Cairo on July 13, 2023.
In the opening of today’s meeting, Ambassador Seleshi Bekele, the head of the delegation of negotiators from the Ethiopian side, said that this dialogue is being held after the completion of the fourth round filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which was successfully carried out in pursuant to the statement of principles reached in 2015 between the respective countries.
Ambassador Seleshi believes that in this round of discussion, the three countries will reach an understanding of the pending issues in this round of talks..
He further reaffirmed Ethiopia`s position that equitable and reasonable utilization of the waters of the Nile, as stipulated in the 2015 Declaration of Principles, is the only viable way to ensure a fair use of the river.
Ethiopia is committed to reaching a negotiated and amicable solution through the ongoing trilateral process, Seleshi underlined.
In their respective opening remarks, Egypt’s Minister of Water and Irrigation, Prof. Hani Sewilam, and Sudan’s Acting Minister of Water, Dawelbeit Abdelrahman Mansour Basher, expressed their hope for an agreement.
The trilateral meeting of the three countries’ respective representatives will continue deliberations until tomorrow, 24 September, according to the FDRE Government Communication Service.