Egypt and Sudan have called for the international community’s active intervention to ward off risks related to Ethiopia’s continued pursuit of its policy relating to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
This includes Ethiopia’s attempts of imposing a fait accompli on the two downstream countries, and the unilateral will that it continues to follow.
The remarks came in a final statement to conclude a visit to Sudan, on Wednesday, by Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atty.
The two ministers visited Khartoum to discuss with Sudanese officials the developments of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and possible means to promote relations between Cairo and Khartoum.
The two ministers met with Sudan’s Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Chairperson of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, along with the country’s Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk.
They also held expanded talks with their Sudanese counterparts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Khartoum.
The final statement said that the consultations focused on the developments of the GERD file, as the two parties agreed on the serious risks and dire effects of the dam’s unilateral filling.
It stressed the importance of coordinating the efforts of the two countries at the regional, continental, and international levels to push Ethiopia to negotiate seriously. This would also ensure negotiations take place in good faith and with real political will.
This aims at reaching a comprehensive, just, and legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, after the negotiations sponsored by the African Union (AU) reached a dead end due to Ethiopian intransigence.
The visions of the two countries also agreed on the need to coordinate on moving to protect security, peace, and stability in the region and in Africa.
The statement noted that this took into account Ethiopia’s announcement of its intention to fill the dam during the upcoming flood season, without taking into account the interests of Sudan and Egypt.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and Water Resources and Irrigation, for both countries have expressed deep concern about the potential effects and damage from the dam’s filling and operation without a legally binding agreement.
They stressed the importance of concerted international efforts to reach a settlement relating to the GERD crisis, that takes into account the interests of the three countries and achieves their common interests.
The talks also touched on the bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries, where the two sides affirmed their keenness to strengthen and deepen the eternal relations that bind the peoples of the two countries.
