(3 minutes read)
· Ethiopia has registered its opposition to the call by Sudan for outside mediators including the United States and EU in the ongoing dispute over hydroelectric dam being built on the Nile River
· However, Ethiopia has made it clear that it was open to the mediation of African Union (AU), although it generally opposes any mediation by outside parties in the mediation
· A recent newspaper report appeared in Sudan indicated that Sudan had formally requested mediation by the European Union, the United States, and the African Union to resolve the dispute after the visit of Sudan’s prime minister to Cairo last week.
Ethiopia has registered its opposition to the call by Sudan for outside mediators including the United States and EU in the ongoing dispute over hydroelectric dam being built on the Nile River. However, Ethiopia has made it clear that it was open to the mediation of African Union (AU), although it generally opposes any mediation by outside parties in the mediation.
Ethiopian authorities have made its stand clear that the tripartite talks between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam should be concluded between the three countries themselves, not by the involvement of outsiders, although it is not against the involvement of other parties and groups except AU to lend credence to the view that African problems should be resolved by Africans alone.
A recent newspaper report appeared in Sudan indicated that Sudan had formally requested mediation by the European Union, the United States, and the African Union to resolve the dispute after the visit of Sudan’s prime minister to Cairo last week.
Ethiopia’s take is that in spite of the long drawn out negotiations, a deal could not be ironed out on the sharing of the Nile’s water, a lifeline for all three countries. The talks with a variety of mediators, including the Trump administration, have failed to produce a resolution. The US$4.6 billion dam will be Africa’s largest. Ethiopia began filling the dam’s reservoir last July as heavy rains flooded the river. It is expected to reach full power generating capacity in 2023, according to the government.
Ethiopia insists the dam is crucial to develop. It can also meet the region’s power requirements, besides Ethiopia becoming a major power exporter. However, Egypt asserts that the dam poses an existential threat since Ethiopia is filling the dam too quickly. Echoing the same views, Sudan has also voiced concern over its access to the Nile’s water.
