The United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday said Washington will continue to work with the governments of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan until they sign an accord on the Nile dam, reported Reuters.
The announcement came after the three countries failed to sign an agreement on the filling and operation of the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) this week. The giant dam is being constructed on the Blue Nile, which flows into the Nile River.
In a statement released on Friday, Mnuchin said he held separate bilateral talks with ministers from Egypt and Sudan over the past two days after Ethiopia opted out of the final round of talks at the last moment.
Ethiopia’s ministry of water, irrigation, and energy announced on Facebook that it would not attend the meeting in Washington, saying consultations within Ethiopia had not been completed.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary said he looked forward to Ethiopia concluding its internal consultations to allow signing of the deal at soon as possible. He stressed that final testing and filling of the dam “should not take place without an agreement.
“The United States reaffirms its commitment to remain engaged with the three countries until they sign the final agreement,” Mnuchin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
During the last round of talks in Washington last month, the three countries agreed on a schedule for staged filling of the Nile dam and mitigation mechanisms during dry periods and drought, but they still needed to finalize details on safety and how to resolve any disputes.
Mnuchin said Egypt was ready to sign the agreement and had initiated it, but Ethiopia continued its national consultations. He added that the downstream populations in Sudan and Egypt remained concerned about unresolved issues on the safe operation of the dam.
It was not immediately clear when further talks between the three countries on the Nile dam would be scheduled.
