The chief negotiator of Ethiopia on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Sileshi Bekele and ambassador to the United States, stated that the completion status of GERD was at 94 per cent and the last concrete of the dam would be poured by the month of September in the year 2024.
The statement made by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry, the remarks of Bekele were made during a press briefing concerning the outcome of the fourth and final talks of the dam between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan which wound up on Tuesday. In addition, Ethiopia reiterated that they were fully committed to address the outstanding issues and reach an amicable solution to the utilization of the sources of water of the Nile, guided by the principles of equality and reasonability in the usage of the water without bringing any sort of disaster to the countries located downstream.
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Negotiations Results
In the meeting that was held on Tuesday this week, the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources in Egypt announced that the GERD negotiation tracks ended as a result of Ethiopia persistently rejecting the proposed technical and legal solutions that were presented which would foresee the safeguarding of the interests of all the parties involved including Addis Ababa itself.
Egypt asserted that they would be closely monitoring the filling and the operation the GERD and also ensure the reservation of its right under the existing international charters and accords, to safeguard its water and national security in case harm arises. Egypt depends mainly on the Nile to meet its water needs and fears that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will negatively affect the already scarce supply of water in the country.
For over a decade of negotiations, both Egypt and Sudan have been searching for a legal binding agreement that governs the filling and operations of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam which assures that their water security is guaranteed and also the safety of the dam along with Ethiopia’s interests.
