Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Tuesday invited his Ethiopian and Egyptian counterparts for a tripartite summit to resolve disputes over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), his office said, reported Anadolu Agency.
In a statement, the Sudanese Council of Ministers said the meeting between the three leaders would be held within the next 10 days. The statement, however, did not mention if the meeting would be held in Khartoum or another capital.
“Sudan’s PM Hamdok has sent invitations to Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed and to Egyptian PM Mustafa Madboli for a tripartite summit according to Article 10 of the declaration of principles that was signed between the three countries in 2015,” the statement said.
In his message sent to the two prime ministers, the SudanesePrime Minister Hamdok said the talks have been deadlocked while construction of the dam has reached an advanced stage, which makes it urgent to reach a solution before its second filling.
Last week, the talks involving the three countries held in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) failed to reach a binding agreement over the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the filling of its vast reservoir.
“According to the failure of the recent meetings in the DRC to achieve a breakthrough, Sudan is calling for a closed meeting between the leadership of the three countries” the statement added.
Ethiopia says it would continue with the second-year filling of the dam reservoir as scheduled. But the Sudanese government has warned that the second filling of the dam without its approval would compromise the safety of its dams and endanger the lives of people living in the surrounding area. Egypt has also warned that it won’t tolerate any damage caused to the country’s share of Nile river water.
Last week, Sudan and Egypt rejected an Ethiopian proposal to share data on the operations of its giant dam.
