GERD Talks Held in Kinshasa, AU Calls for ‘Solid Regional Cooperation’

The Egyptian, Ethiopian and Sudanese foreign and water ministers meet in Kinshasa. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
The Egyptian, Ethiopian and Sudanese foreign and water ministers meet in Kinshasa. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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GERD Talks Held in Kinshasa, AU Calls for ‘Solid Regional Cooperation’

The Egyptian, Ethiopian and Sudanese foreign and water ministers meet in Kinshasa. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
The Egyptian, Ethiopian and Sudanese foreign and water ministers meet in Kinshasa. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Foreign and irrigation ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan held talks in Kinshasa on Sunday over the controversial mega dam Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who took over the chair of the African Union in February, expressed hope for the success of the talks by offering technical and judicial proposals, pending a final agreement on the issue.

In a press conference on Sunday, Tshisekedi said the differences over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) should be seen as an opportunity for greater rapprochement among peoples and means for solid cooperation between regional countries.

He called on the participating delegations to “make a fresh start, to open one or several windows of hope, to seize every opportunity.”

The AU chair also stressed the importance of finding ways to hold talks, exchange views and information and reach an agreement that guarantees the rights and interests of the three countries.

Tshisekedi pointed to willingness of the participants “to seek African solutions for African problems together.”

He concluded by urging relevant officials to translate the people’s will on ground to reach an agreement on the decade-long dispute.

On Saturday, experts from Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Cairo and the AU held preliminary meetings at the level of foreign and irrigation ministers to discuss reaching an agreement over the operation and filling of the GERD.

Tshisekedi later received both Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty.

Shoukry handed Tshisekedi a letter from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in which he stressed Egypt’s keenness on the success of the negotiations.

According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Cairo welcomes the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s efforts to launch a negotiation process that would eventually lead to a fair, balanced and legally binding agreement that guarantees the interests of the three countries, bolsters complementarity and cooperation relations and deepens the bonds of brotherhood among their peoples.

Sisi highlighted his country’s sincere political will to reach the desired agreement as soon as possible and before the upcoming rainy season, voicing full support for Tshisekedi’s efforts in this regard.

The Nile, the world’s longest river, is a lifeline supplying both water and electricity to the 10 countries it crosses.

Upstream Ethiopia says hydroelectric power produced by the GERD will be vital to meet the energy needs of its 110 million people.

Egypt, which depends on the Nile for about 97 percent of its irrigation and drinking water, sees the dam as an existential threat.

Sudan, also downstream, fears its own dams will be compromised if Ethiopia proceeds with filling the GERD before a deal is reached.



UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.