Nile dam: African Union announces failure of talks

Will the Nile War take place in 2021? One can legitimately ask the question after the announcement by the African Union of the failure of the tripartite talks between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia concerning the great Renaissance dam. “We cannot continue in this vicious circle of unlimited negotiations, knowing that the Gerd poses a direct threat to the Sudanese dam of Roseires”, affirmed, for his part, the Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Yasir Abbas. The latter, like other Sudanese negotiators, is now calling for negotiations to continue at a higher level, between the leaders of the three countries concerned and the AU. How did we get there, when just a week ago the discussions were relaunched?

Faint hope talks

Indeed, last week, the three countries concerned agreed to hold new talks in the hope of reaching an agreement on the management and filling of the reservoir of the Great Renaissance Dam (Gerd). The project launched in 2011 is set to become Africa’s largest hydroelectric facility, but it also risks reducing the flow of water from the Nile when it reaches Egypt. A casus belli for the Egyptians.

The last talks, which were held at the beginning of November, ended without progress, negotiations having been deadlocked for several months. Cairo, but also Khartoum, downstream of the river, want a legally binding agreement, in particular on the management of the dam and the filling of the reservoir. Addis Ababa, which considers its dam essential to its development, is reluctant to do so and maintains that the water supply of these countries will not be affected. Ethiopia had announced on July 21 that it had reached its filling target for the first year. The new talks, which began last week, “have not resulted in an acceptable deal to resume talks on the Gerd,” Sudanese state agency Suna reported. Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, the country currently chairing the AU, expressed regret at the stalemate in which the talks had become mired. In a final attempt to find a solution, on Sunday morning, the South African presidency urgently called a six-party meeting of foreign and irrigation ministers from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. .

Sudan’s concerns

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry noted in a statement Sunday evening the lack of progress in the negotiations. The African Union, which offers its assistance in these discussions, “proposed to the three countries to hold bilateral meetings with the experts appointed by the AU which were to be followed by a tripartite meeting …” indicates Addis Ababa in its press release. . “While Ethiopia and Egypt accepted this proposal, Sudan refused it, resulting in the end of the meeting,” continues the Ethiopian government, which claims to have set up a data exchange mechanism with the Sudan to “respond to the concerns of Sudan”.

Relations between Ethiopia and Sudan have deteriorated in recent weeks, clashes have been reported at the common border on the sidelines of the military operation led by Addis Ababa in the dissident region of Tigray (North), bordering Sudan . The dam is causing tensions in particular with Egypt, a country of more than 100 million inhabitants which depends 97% on the Nile for its water supply, and which fears that it will be reduced by the installation. Sudan, which experienced deadly floods last summer, hopes the dam will help regulate the flow of the river, but has also warned that millions of lives will be lost. a great risk ”, if no agreement was reached. The Nile, which flows some 6,000 kilometers, is an essential source of water and electricity for a dozen countries in East Africa.