Foreign Affairs Ministry Expects GERD Negotiations to Resume Very Soon

Addis Ababa March 3/2021 (ENA) Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is making preparations for the resumption of talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) very soon, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Briefing the media today, MoFA Spokesperson  Dina Mufti said the Congolese who took  chairmanship of AU from the South African leadership “are preparing themselves to resume the GERD negotiations which have been halted for a while for reasons we don’t know.”

The AU-led GERD negotiation is expected to resume among Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt , he added.

“The Congolese have been investigating on what has been taking place and they have visited  Cairo and Khartoum. Hopefully they will be here as well,” the spokesperson stated.

According to him, Ethiopia has been backing the AU-led negotiations and the resumption is expected to come up with amicable solutions to GERD issues.

In its summary of today's briefing, the ministry said it believes the AU-led negotiation over the GERD will bring a win-win solution to all.

The tendency to invite various parties as mediators to the issue while the AU-led negotiation has not been finalized is demeaning the efforts of the AU, it elaborated.

“Portraying Ethiopia as if it has postponed the on-going negotiation is also unfounded.”

Ethiopia has been negotiating in good faith and a deep belief that it has got the right to utilize its water resources without causing significant harm to the downstream countries and as per the principles of international law on fair and equitable utilization of water resources.

Dina revealed that the ministry “hopes the resumptions of the negotiations will be very soon and we hope we will come up with amicable solutions to the GERD issues with the downstream countries.”

MoFA thanked South Africa for trying to bridge the gap between the tripartite and hoped the Congolese will do the same.