Tripartite Meeting Tasks Sudan to Draft “New Consensual Document”

Addis Ababa June 14/2020(ENA) The tripartite negotiation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the filling of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have made progress on Sunday and tasked Sudan with drafting an agreement on the pending issues.

In a statement released in Khartoum, the Sudanese irrigation ministry which chaired the meeting said that the parties engaged discussions on the basis of a “consensual document" it sent to the two other parties after a meeting on Thursday.

"The discussions of today’s meeting focused on the technical aspects of filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under normal rainy seasons, during one dry season or prolonged periods of dry years as well as long term operation mechanism,"  the statement said.

At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed that Sudan would draft "a new consensual document based on the comments of the three countries during today’s (Sunday’s) meeting," Sudan Tribune reported quoting Sudanese Irrigation Ministry.

Also, they agreed to meet on Monday 15 June to discuss the new draft by the Sudanese government and evaluate the negotiation process and the next steps consequently.

The Sudanese irrigation ministry said that the participant agreed on most technical issues except for some limited details. Furthermore, the parties discussed the legal aspects of the agreement.