US may withhold aid to Ethiopia as no progress seems to be made on GERD
US may withhold aid to Ethiopia as no progress seems to be made on GERD: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reportedly signed off on plans to cut some USD 130 mn-worth of assistance programs to Ethiopia to pressure the country to reach an agreement with Egypt and Sudan in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Foreign Policy reported. The move could see a suspension of funding for security, counter-terrorism, and anti-human trafficking, but not aid for humanitarian relief, food, and health, FP said, citing officials and congressional aides familiar with the matter. Bloomberg also had the story.
Friday’s talks failed: News of the potential cut to US aid came after the three countries’ irrigation ministers failed to see eye-to-eye at talks on Friday, an Irrigation Ministry statement. The breakdown prompted Sudan to warn that talks in their current format are unlikely to produce an agreement, the Sudanese News Agency reports.