Sudanese Recent Initiative Intended to Avoid Fact-based Talks: Water Expert Reveals

Addis Ababa April 24/2021 (ENA) The recent initiative of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok for holding a closed-door meeting of leaders of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan is aimed at avoiding fact-based trilateral talks on GERD, Water Expert Fekahmed Negash said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Fekahmed stated that the recent call of the Sudanese Prime Minister for a close-door meeting of leaders is targeted on excluding experts and avoiding technical and fact-based talks.

Leaders are entitled only to decide political decisions not technical issues, the expert said, adding that “leaders are allowed to approve final decisions on the table. It is not their job to negotiate on technical issues which are the jobs of experts and other pertinent officials from ministries of water and foreign affairs.”  

Fekahmed noted that the closed-door meeting idea has always been initiated and backed by the Egyptian side because they want to avoid the presence of technical experts as they know that experts always come up with sufficient responses for the fake concerns.

Egypt “is interested for close-door meetings because they think they can convince other leaders easily in such meetings,” he elaborated.

Regarding the exchange of data related to the second filling of the dam, the expert said Ethiopia is not obliged to ask permission from Egypt and Sudan to fill its dam. Providing information about the filling is enough.

Offering to provide information about the dam was a good move by Ethiopia, taking into consideration international experiences, Fekahmed noted. This is a move from a nation that takes full responsibility for what it has been doing.

Ethiopia's move manifests what the country is doing towards realizing regional integration and stability, the expert pointed out, adding that this should be praised and the international community should be well informed about such efforts.

According to him, the intention of Egypt and Sudan is to depict GERD as an international security threat and call for the UNSC to get involved in the process, which is a wrong move.

“The second filling of the dam is the natural part of the construction of the dam. So no one can  stop the filling this coming July. Egypt knows this but its main intention is to pressurize  Ethiopia to sign a binding agreement which denies the rights of future development using Abay River.”

Fekahmed stressed that Ethiopia has to utilize and develop its natural resources for the benefit of its people. Utilizing its resources not only a right but is an obligation.

“The major long-term goal of Egypt is to prevent Ethiopia from building other water related developments in its sovereign territory, which is totally unacceptable. Thus it tries to make the process of  building and utilizing GERD difficult by exerting utmost efforts to internationalize the negotiation,” Fekahmed explained.  

He revealed that they assume Ethiopia would give up constructing other similar projects if the first move of the East African nation is this much complicated. This is the major intention of Egypt which has to be clear for all concerned parties.

It is to be recalled that the two countries followed an approach that undermines the AU-led process.