A new round of negotiations concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will begin next December between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan in Addis Ababa.
The talks aim to reach a “legal” agreement over operating the Ethiopian Dam following the third round of negotiations that ended in Cairo last Tuesday.
Experts considered the fourth round as the “last chance” to resolve the outstanding differences between the three countries.
The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced that the meeting would be held in Addis Ababa to complete the negotiating process that began over the past two months and reach an agreement on the filling and operation rules.
It indicated that the Cairo meeting was based on talks between the three countries to accelerate the process of reaching an agreement following a meeting between leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia on July 13.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed agreed to initiate urgent negotiations to finalize an agreement between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan on the filling of the GERD and the rules of its operations.
The two leaders said they would make all the necessary efforts to finalize the agreement in four months.
Last month, Ethiopia hosted another round of negotiations and witnessed accusations between Cairo and Addis Ababa of not achieving progress in the talks.
Professor of Geology and Water Resources at Cairo University Abbas Sharaki believes the next round of negotiations will be the fourth and probably the ‘last chance’ to reach an agreement.
Sharaki believes the three countries will be unable to reach common ground, noting that Egypt has been negotiating for 12 years but the Ethiopian position remains unchanged.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that over four years, Ethiopia has stored 41 billion cubic meters of water, noting that the dam is set to keep 74 billion cubic meters.
He said if the related countries fail to reach an agreement, Ethiopia could store the remaining 23 billion cubic meters by next year, which would impact the downstream countries.
Egypt and Sudan demand a binding legal agreement regulating the filling and operating of the dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile.
The dam could reduce water supplies to the two countries and cause other environmental and economic damages.
Ethiopia defends its right to development and generates the electricity its people need.
Sharaki believes that the possible scenario after a failed fourth round would include an announcement by the relevant technical committees that negotiations “reached a dead end”. The political leadership would then discuss the matter to take necessary steps.
The professor suggested another scenario that could see the return of Egypt and Sudan to the Security Council to discuss the issue of the dam being a threat risking the two countries.
