Sudan’s Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Yasser Abbas warned Ethiopia against filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for the second year without signing an agreement, reported Al Jazeera.
The Sudanese minister said filling the dam reservoir without agreement with the other parties involved in the negotiations on the disputed points threatens the safety of Sudanese citizens who live on the banks of the Blue Nile River. Notably, roughly half of the country’s population lives on the banks of the Blue Nile.
Abbas made the remarks when he met with the Head of the European Union mission to Sudan Robert van den Dool, and the head of the political department of the mission, Daniel Weiss, on Monday as part of his meetings with foreign ambassadors to explain Sudan’s position on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
He also briefed the European diplomats on the proposals submitted by Sudan, which will allow African Union (AU) experts to take on a larger role in the ongoing talks.
The meeting comes within the framework of informing foreign ambassadors in Khartoum on the developments in negotiations between Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia over the long-running dispute involving the filling and the operation of the $4.6bn mega-dam.
The three countries have had several rounds of talks in the past to resolve the issue surrounding the controversial dam, but, have failed to reach an agreement on the disputed technical and legal points. The latest round of talks, which began last month, quickly broke down without crucial breakthroughs.
Egypt and Sudan are worried that GERD will restrict vital water supplies, while Ethiopia claims that the hydroelectric power produced by the dam will be vital to meet the power needs of its 110 million people and help reduce poverty levels.
The dispute between the countries has continued even after the first filling of the 145-meter-tall dam’s reservoir began in July.
