Egypt has denounced Ethiopia’s “intransigence” in negotiations over the mega dam it is building on the Blue Nile.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed Wednesday with German National Security Advisor Jan Hacker the recent developments on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute.
Shoukry and Hacker met on the sidelines of the second Berlin Conference on Libya and highlighted Cairo’s effort to reach a binding legal agreement with Khartoum and Addis Ababa.
Shoukry also met with his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, and discussed with him regional matters that both countries consider a priority.
Irrigation Minister Mohammed Abdel Aty, for his part, kicked off an official visit to Sudan’s Juba and met with Sudanese senior officials.
He pointed to Cairo’s flexibility in talks over GERD that was faced by Addis Ababa’s intransigence.
During his meeting with Sudan’s first Vice President Riek Machar and his counterpart Manawa Peter, Abdel Aty affirmed that his country is implementing several projects in the Nile basin and other African countries.
The projects implemented in South Sudan aim to serve citizens and achieve stability by addressing drinking water problems and protecting people from floods, he explained.
“Work is underway to implement projects in seven different states,” he added.
Egypt is committed to continue holding talks over GERD, while holding onto its water rights and achieving the three countries’ interests in any agreement.
Meanwhile, Khartoum asked the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to meet and discuss the dispute over GERD.
Foreign Minister Mariam Sadiq al-Mahdi called on the Security Council to hold a session as soon as possible to discuss the dam and “its impact on the safety and security of millions of people,” a government statement said.
In a letter to the council head, she called on him to urge Ethiopia to stop the “unilateral” filling of the dam “which exacerbates the dispute and poses a threat to regional and international peace and security,” the statement added.
