ETHIOPIA on Monday expressed readiness to negotiate with Sudan and Egypt on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under the patronage of the African Union (AU).
‘Addis Ababa is convinced that all issues can be resolved through dialogue and negotiations,’ said Yibeltal Aemero, Ethiopian ambassador in Khartoum, at a press conference here on Monday.
He said that ‘the third filling of the GERD had been successfully completed without harm to Sudan or negative effects on the two downstream countries’ (Sudan and Egypt).
He added that the filling has lessened the effects of floods in Sudan despite Khartoum’s recent claims that the dam would negatively affect 20 million Sudanese citizens.
On August 12, the Ethiopian government announced the successful completion of the third filling of the GERD.
Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia have been negotiating under the patronage of the AU over technical and legal issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD.
Sudan proposed a mediation quartet of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and the AU regarding the GERD issue, while Ethiopia rejected the proposal.
Ethiopia, which started building the GERD in 2011, expects to produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity from the project, while Egypt and Sudan, both downstream Nile Basin countries that rely on the river for its fresh water, are concerned that the dam might affect their water resources.