Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to resume GERD talks — again
Addis Ababa signals willingness to return to the GERD negotiation table — again: Ethiopia has agreed to resume talks on filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) following a meeting between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Sudanese PM Abdalla Hamdok, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement that is otherwise scant on details. The ministry stressed that the upcoming meeting must be “serious and constructive” to reach a “fair, balanced, and comprehensive” agreement between the three nations.
Background: The negotiations between the three countries had reached a deadlock in February after Ethiopia’s unprompted decision to skip the final round of US-brokered talks in Washington and insisted on filling the dam as early as July. But international pressure has been mounting on Ethiopia to return to the negotiation table, with both the EU and China joining the UN and the US in calling for a diplomatic settlement to end the dispute.