Next round of trilateral negotiation on GERD to be held in October in Cairo

Addis Ababa, September 25, 2023 (FBC) – Ethiopia hosted the second round of the trilateral negotiation between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt on September 23–24, 2023. This round of talks started with optimism about making progress and narrowing differences on outstanding issues.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, in a statement, said: “With the conviction of accomplishing the task entrusted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Abdel Fatah Al Sisi and preserving the positive spirit among the parties, Ethiopia has negotiated in good faith throughout the second round of talks.

The three countries were able to make progress on identifying issues of possible convergence. It was further agreed to continue the trilateral negotiation in October 2023 in Cairo, Egypt, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The Egyptian side has pushed a position that undermines the Agreement on the Declaration of Principles (DoP) of 2015. It is regrettable that Egypt`s continued insistence on maintaining an exclusionary colonial-era-based treaty, monopolistic utilization, and self-claimed “water quota” have prevented substantive progress in the negotiation.”

Ethiopia maintains that the objective of the current trilateral negotiations is to finalize the guidelines and rules on the first filling and annual operation of the GERD that ensure the rights of Ethiopia and accommodate the legitimate concerns of downstream countries, the Ministry noted.

“It is vital to stress that Ethiopia is keenly engaging in trilateral negotiations to ensure the interests of the present and future generations of Ethiopians over the utilization of the Nile River,”

Ethiopia will continue its engagement to reach a win-win outcome through the ongoing trilateral process.