Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on Egypt and Sudan to return to “peaceful” negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) at a press conference last week announcing the completion of the dam’s third filling. “Peaceful negotiations and genuine discussions over the GERD will bear [more] fruitful results than any other alternative,” Ahmed said, according to an Ethiopian Foreign Ministry statement.

Background: Talks between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan over filling and operating the dam have been at a standstill for a year, when Ethiopia unilaterally embarked on the second filling of the dam’s reservoir and Egypt and Sudan pulled out of the African Union-led negotiations. The UAE earlier this month tried to inject new momentum into the diplomatic process and called on the three countries to return to talks with the AU. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said a few days later that Egypt would continue pursuing a diplomatic approach to the dispute.

ALSO IN THE DIPLO SPHERE- Shoukry + Canadian international development minister talk climate change, food security: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met Canadian International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan in Cairo yesterday to discuss climate change, food security and boosting bilateral cooperation, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.