GERD: Sudan ‘looking forward to agreement before second filling’

Sudan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mariam El Sadig El Mahdi, has said that Sudan is looking forward to reaching a legally binding agreement over filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), before its second filling. The dam, Ethiopia’s intention to fill it, and the ramifications to Sudan and Egypt downstream have been the subject of sharp and often fruitless negotiations, which are now progressing due to international efforts at mediation.

Addressing the Symposium of the Graduates of the American University in Cairo–Jordan via video link from Khartoum on Saturday, Minister El Mahdi said that the Sudanese vision on the GERD has received wide national consensus among components of the transitional government, the Sudanese people, and regional and international understanding for being reasonable and objective, the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reports.

El Mahdi said that Sudan is ready for negotiations to resolve the issues peacefully, under auspices of the African Union, and renewed her welcome to international partners, guarantors, and facilitators. She highlighted that the USA has played important role in the mediation that solved the technical and legal matters, and that few points pertinent to filling and operation remained. She voiced surprise that “Ethiopia retreated from what was agreed upon”.

She indicated that the USA could play a major role by exercising political and diplomatic pressure over Ethiopia and that “Sudan has responded to the AU initiative as affirmation to its seriousness and its aim to find African solutions to African issues”.