Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan on Friday said that a final agreement on the giant Blue Nile dam would be signed by the end of February, reported Reuters. The announcement followed four-day negotiations between the three countries’ Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Water Resource in Washington D.C.
In a joint statement with the United States and the World Bank, the three countries said they had agreed on a schedule for staged filling of the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and mitigation mechanisms to adjust its filling and operation during dry periods and drought.
Although the nations are still to finalize several aspects of the Nile dam, including its safety and provisions for the resolution of disputes, the statement said that a final agreement on the dam would most likely be signed by the end of February. The statement reaffirmed the importance of transboundary cooperation in the development of the Blue Nile to improve the lives of people in the three countries.
“Documents to be signed will be further deliberated by legal team supported by technical team. This will continue next week to complete comprehensive document within 30 days,” Sileshi Bekele, Ethiopian Minister for water, irrigation, and energy, wrote on Twitter.
Ethiopia and Egypt are at loggerheads over the dam issue as Cairo fears that the already scarce supplies of Nile waters, on which its population of more than 100 million people is dependent completely, would be further restricted.
President Trump Says Dam Agreement To Benefit All Parties-
The United States has hosted several rounds of talks with ministers from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and the World Bank after years of trilateral negotiations failed.
A White House spokesman said U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism during a call with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday. He said that he believes an agreement on the dam was near and would benefit all parties involved.
