Egypt, Ethiopia fail to reach breakthrough in dam negotiations
While the recent round of negotiations on Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam ended with a new document aimed at entrenching cooperation between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, it did not resolve the differences over the water filling and dam operation process.
CAIRO — In an effort to break the stalemate between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the round of negotiations held between the three countries' foreign ministers, irrigation and water ministers, and heads of intelligence ended May 15 in Addis Ababa with the signing of a document containing five clauses.
The aim of the document is to create a new road map that would avoid procrastination and have the three countries renew their pledge to cooperate in accordance with the Declaration of Principles signed in March 2015.
However, while the document was issued after 16 hours of back-to-back meetings, it failed to resolve the fundamental differences between Egypt and Ethiopia over the technical studies aimed at determining the negative effects of the dam on Egypt. It also failed to reach an agreement over a storage and operation mechanism in the dam that would avoid causing severe damage to Cairo.
Yet still, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the document was a success. “We have set a course to break the deadlock, and I trust that sincerity will lead to the conclusion of technical studies that will be of benefit to the three countries,” he said during a press conference following the signing of the document.
