The Ethiopian foreign ministry released a statement on Thursday detailing the meetings held with Egypt regarding the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The meeting, which was held on Wednesday, highlighted the findings of the International Panel of Experts (IPoE).
Ethiopia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Berhane Gebrechristos said the report compiled by the IPoE shows the construction of the GERD will not pose a risk to Sudan and Egypt.
The 800-page report was handed to the Sudanese and Egyptian delegations which will now participate in a roundtable discussion on recommendations set forth by the IPoE regarding further activities.
According to the statement, Gebrechristos stressed the panel was set up at the insistence of Ethiopia to ensure mutual benefits for all countries involved.
“There had been some misunderstanding, but the two-day talks held in Addis Ababa between the two foreign ministers in a spirit of mutual understanding and brotherhood had reached agreement on discussions over the [IPoE’s] report,” the statement read.
The statement concluded that the Egyptian and Sudanese delegations had “embraced the construction of the dam, convinced that Ethiopia would pose no risk to their nations’ futures.”
State-owned news agency Al-Ahram meanwhile published a contradictory report citing a member of the IpoE, saying Ethiopia has failed to prove the effects of the GERD on Egypt. In a conference which was held on Wednesday, Al-Ahram cites Ala Al-Zawahiri, said to be a member of the IPoE tripartite commission, stating that Ethiopia’s dam will reduce Egypt’s share of Nile water by 15 billion cubic metres, or roughly 27%.
Al-Ahram also mentioned worst case scenarios describing the catastrophic effect on Sudan and Egypt if the dam were to burst, unleashing 74 billion cubic metres of water downstream.
