EU Ready to Support GERD Talks for Win-win Deal

Addis Ababa October 9/2020 (ENA) The tripartite negotiation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is not an easy task but the European Union is ready to support the talks to have a win-win agreement for Ethiopia and downstream countries, said EU Vice-President of the European Commission.

The GERD is a geostrategic asset mainly for Ethiopia, neighboring countries and the region, EU’s Vice-President Josep Borrell said.

Borrell stated that the European Union is an observer on the negotiations between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, adding that GERD is a geo-strategic asset for the whole region mainly for Ethiopia.

“It is true that this dam is a geostrategic asset for the whole region–mainly for Ethiopia- but the interests of the neighborhood countries have to be taken also into consideration. Things must be done in a way that everybody could have benefits,” Borrell underscored.

“We are going to talk about it, we are following the negotiations, now that the first filling of the dam has been finished, and I think it’s time to look for the stable solution in agreement with the neighbors.”

According to him, the GERD tripartite negotiations are not an easy task but the European Union is ready to support these talks to have a win-win agreement for Ethiopia and the neighbors.

“It’s not an easy task, but we are participating in the talks and we are ready to support these talks in order to have a win-win situation for Ethiopia and for the neighbors,” he said.

The European Union (EU) has been taking part in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) tripartite talks between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan as one of the observers for the past few months.

The African Union led tripartite negotiations has been registering some progress in the presence of the European Union and other observers.