Christophe Lutundula, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which currently leads the African Union (AU), on Wednesday started an African Tour to mediate in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis.
Lutundula arrived in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, as his first stop, where he will meet with his Sudanese counterpart Mariam Al-Sadiq, as well as a number of senior officials.
According to the Sudanese news agency (SUNA), Lutundula led a delegation from the Congolese Presidency and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, besides an expert from AU.
The tour will also include Ethiopia and Egypt. It aims to discuss measures to resume the negotiation process on the Ethiopian Dam.
The visit followed a complaint sent by the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation to the Ethiopian authorities and AU over inaccurate data Ethiopia sent to Sudan regarding the filling of GERD.
On Tuesday, Sudanese Minister of Irrigation Yasser Abbas said that Ethiopia provided Sudan with false information regarding the filling and operation of GERD.
A statement published by the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation said that Abbas informed Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy Seleshi Bekele that Sudan rejected the technical data that Ethiopia provided last July, related to the filling of the disputed dam.
According to the statement, Abbas told his Ethiopian counterpart that “providing Sudan with inaccurate and incomplete information violates the basic principles of international law.”
Abbas sent a copy of the letter to the Chief of the African Union and the African Union Commission, in which he mentioned the damages caused to Sudan as a result of false information and lack of coordination on the Ethiopian side.
He urged his Ethiopian counterpart to accept the mediation process led by AU to help the three concerned parties, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt, reach a satisfactory agreement on GERD.
