Senators Urge US to Re-Establish Itself As A Neutral Arbiter on Dispute of GERD

Addis Ababa June 29/2020(ENA) United States Senators have urged US to re-establish “itself as a neutral arbiter in Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.” 

Senator Cory A. Booker from New Jersey and Christopher A. Coons from Delaware, in their letter to Secretary of the Treasury Department, Steven Mnuchin said in their letter the US should persuade the three countries to resolve their divergence through negotiations.

The two senators said “what began as an ambitious project to realize development potential through the creation of electric power supply and agricultural irrigation, has deteriorated in to a diplomatic standoff in a region wrought with geopolitical tensions.”

They stressed the United States should strive to be an agent of stability and peace in East Africa, to encourage all pa1ties to resolve disputes through diplomacy.

In their letter the senators emphasized that “As you know, after disapproving of a draft agreement written by the United States that was perceived to be favoring Egypt’s position, Ethiopia withdrew from the negotiations in February of this year, leaving the region in limbo and susceptible to dangerous miscalculation.”

The senators quoted Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as saying “Ethiopia would begin filing the GERD’ reservoir in July without an agreement in place.”

With the dam near completion and both sides ratcheting up hostile rhetoric, the United States must help de-escalate the situation, they insisted.

The letter stated that “the perception of U.S. partiality, however, makes such an effort more difficult by hardening the parties’ positions and limiting the Administration’ stability to serve as an honest broker for a resolution of the dispute.”

“Due to this and objections from Ethiopia, Sudan, and the African member states of the United Nations Security Council, the Council does not appear to be the appropriate venue to debate the issue of the GERD,” it was indicated.

In addition, any threats to suspend bilateral or multilateral aid to Ethiopia or any effort to link such assistance to Ethiopia’s position on the GERD would be counter to the U.S.’s priorities in the region, the senators stressed in their letter.

Given the importance of the U.S.­-Ethiopia bilateral relationship, “our interests in the success of the transitions in both Ethiopia and Sudan, and our long-standing investments to promote peace and security in the broader region, our diplomatic engagement and foreign assistance there “must advance our interests and promote stability in the region,” the letter noted.

Furthermore, the senators urged the US to leverage the expertise of career officials at the State Depa1tment, who have deep knowledge of the regional and national security issues at play and who have reportedly been sidelined in the negotiations thus far, to support the parties in finding a mutually beneficial compromise.

Egypt, with its security partnership with the United State; Ethiopia with its recent historic political transition that could offer a democratic partner in the horn of Africa; and Sudan in its own historic civilian transition are important regional players, they underscored.