Sudan will be the most affected by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), if the concerned parties could not reach a legally binding agreement on this issue, according to Mohamed Sharif Abdullah, Under-Secretary of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry.
It came during a Wednesday meeting between the Sudanese Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Water Resources, and Information, with ambassadors from Europe and America to discuss latest developments of GERD talks.
During the meeting, Abdullah stressed on the importance of continuing negotiations being the only way to resolve differences.
He also said that Sudan will continue to explain to other parties the possible dangers that its citizens and strategic facilities based on the Blue Nile, on top of which is the Roseires Dam, will be exposed to because of the GERD.
Abdullah affirmed Sudan’s commitment and respect to the mediation of the African Union (AU), and his hope for these efforts to lead to a comprehensive solution that guarantees the conclusion of a legally binding agreement.
He also affirmed the need to grant AU experts a bigger role in ending the GERD dispute, on the basis of the “African solutions to African problems” principle.
In November, Sudan has decided not to participate in a ministerial meeting that was scheduled to discuss guidelines for further negotiations, saying that the way previous talks were held proved to be “unproductive.”
Moreover, Sudan’s Water Resources and Irrigation Minister, Yasser Abbas, stressed, last week, that his country would not benefit from the GERD without reaching a legally binding agreement, a demand repeatedly dodged by South Africa, the current chair of AU, over the last several years.
