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Agreement Reached to Resume GERD Negotiations

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. (AFP)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. (AFP)
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Agreement Reached to Resume GERD Negotiations

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. (AFP)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. (AFP)

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed have agreed to resume negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) next week.

Hamdok visited Addis Ababa briefly on Sunday and was accompanied by a high-ranking security and military delegation.

A statement by the Sudanese government said Hamdok held “good” closed-door discussions with his Ethiopian counterpart.

The two officials reached an understanding on various issues that will further augment bilateral cooperation, the statement read.

The last GERD meeting was held on Nov. 21 between Egypt and Ethiopia’s irrigation ministers. Sudan boycotted the talks, calling on the African Union to change the negotiations approach and expand the role of experts.

Both sides also called for an emergency meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an East African regional bloc that Hamdok currently chairs.

IGAD is an eight-country trade bloc in Africa that includes Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan Uganda, South Sudan and Eritrea.

The statement did not reveal the purpose for calling for the meeting, but parties will most likely discuss the developments in Ethiopia and the humanitarian and security implications of the Tigray conflict on the region.

In an interview with the local radio station, Beladi, Sudan government spokesperson, Minister of Culture and Information Faisal Mohamed Salih described Sudanese-Ethiopian relations as “good” despite some disputes.

Ethiopia has rebuffed offers to mediate in the Tigray conflict, including from the African Union, and Sudan, he noted, affirming that contacts between both countries has not stopped.

Fighting erupted on Nov. 4 between Ethiopia’s government and the then-governing party in Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

According to Salih, the Sudanese government has implemented an urgent emergency plan, deployed its forces on the borders with Ethiopia to observe the situation and has taken all humanitarian and military precautions to avert any spillover into Sudan.

Abiy’s government declared victory over the TPLF after its forces took control of the regional capital, Mekelle, on Nov. 29. The TPLF has said it was continuing to fight from mountains surrounding Mekelle.

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Arab World

Shiite Forces Boycott Meeting with Vatican Secretary on Lebanon’s Presidential Crisis

Parolin, al-Rai and other officials during the meeting at Bkirki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Parolin, al-Rai and other officials during the meeting at Bkirki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Shiite Forces Boycott Meeting with Vatican Secretary on Lebanon’s Presidential Crisis

Parolin, al-Rai and other officials during the meeting at Bkirki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Parolin, al-Rai and other officials during the meeting at Bkirki. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Representatives of Lebanon's Supreme Islamic Shiite Council and Shiite deputies boycotted a meeting of the heads of sects and parliamentary blocs with Vatican Secretary Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkirki on Tuesday.

The meeting, which focused on the presidential crisis, was held at Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai's invitation.

Addressing the gatherers, Parolin underlined the need to preserve the “Lebanese model” in the turbulent region. He called on the different parties to cooperate to resolve the crisis and reach solutions that “bring hope to Lebanon and its people.”

“I convey to you the greetings of His Holiness Pope Francis, who is carefully following the developments in Lebanon...” he stated, adding: “Today, Lebanon must remain a model of coexistence and unity in light of the ongoing crises and wars.”

He said he was in Lebanon to help end the crisis, namely the failure to elect a president of the republic.

The presidency has been vacant since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022.

For his part, al-Rai emphasized that the meeting was a “gathering of the Lebanese family” and an opportunity for dialogue and mutual understanding, especially during these challenging times.

Shiite representatives boycotted the meeting despite an invitation being sent to the Supreme Shiite Islamic Council.

An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the decision was a response to remarks made by al-Rai during the Sunday mass sermon, in which he said that the resistance against Israel in the South has turned the area into an arena for terrorist acts that destabilize the security and stability of the region.

According to the same source, the Shiite community has no problem with the Vatican, as Parolin is scheduled to meet with Speaker Nabih Berri - a Shiite - on Wednesday.

Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan sent a letter to the Vatican secretary, criticizing al-Rai’s position without naming him and saying: “Some spiritual leaders in my country view what the group of its resisters are doing as abhorrent terrorism that must be deterred and prevented.”

“We do not accept that the Church uses positions that serve Zionist terrorism and global crime,” he added.

Regarding the election of a president, Qabalan stressed: “We want a Christian president for the Muslims, who is as eager as the Muslim resistance [Hezbollah] and its sacrifices for the sake of the Christian churches. This can only be achieved through consensus that safeguards the homeland of Muslims and Christians.”

Christian parties quickly slammed Qabalan’s remarks. In a statement, the Kataeb Party said the letter “contained clear incitement against the role of Bkirki and hateful sectarianism that we have never heard before even at the peak of the Lebanese [civil] war.”