Trilateral Negotiations over GERD to Resume in Upcoming Weekend

April 1/2021/ENA/   Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Seleshi Bekele announced today that the trilateral negotiation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is expected to resume over the coming weekend under the chairmanship of the new African Union (AU) Chair, the DRC.

According him, the negotiation will resume based on extended invitations by the chair to Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Water and Energy Affairs of the three countries.

AU experts, observers, and experts of the three countries are also expected to attend the discussion, he added.

 “Greetings to all Ethiopians and happy anniversary for the 10th year of the commencement of the construction of the GERD: Your dam is now 79 percent complete. We are committed to peace and fair and reasonable utilization of the basin. We shall continue our support for the Renaissance Dam and strengthen our commitment to peace,” Seleshi stated in his twitter page.

The Nile is a transboundary water resource and the GERD project is a crucial infrastructure for energy generation for Ethiopia, he said.

He further stated that the dam also supports the development and better management of the precious resource in the downstream countries by enhancing the positive role of the water and reducing the negative impacts, like flood and droughts.

Ethiopia as always is determined for principled, equitable & reasonable utilization without causing significant harm, the minister added.