Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt Continue Tripartite Negotiation on GERD

Addis Ababa, June 16/2020 (ENA) Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have held negotiations on Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for the 5th day on Monday, 15 June 2020.

According to press release issued by ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, “the three countries negotiated on technical issues on the first filling and annual operation of the GERD.”  

The Chair of the previous day meeting recapped the issues on which convergence is reached, including the rules on the first stage filling, volume of environmental flow, guidelines for first stage filling, the drought management rules, rules on dam safety, environmental and social impact assessment studies, and entry into force of the Guidelines and Rules.

The negotiation on Monday mainly focused on discussions on drought management rules during the filling and operation of the GERD, according to press release.

Ethiopia underlined the need to follow an approach that ensures the joint responsibility of the three countries in the incidence of drought while preserving the optimal operation of the dam.

The negotiation will reconvene today and the legal teams will convene earlier tomorrow to tackle the predominantly legal issues and the trilateral meeting will follow with the chairmanship of Ethiopia.