Renaissance Dam .. Addis Ababa meeting ends without the announcement of results

The meeting of the Ministers of Water and Irrigation in Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan concluded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia without announcing any outputs or results related to the Renaissance Dam file.

The meeting, attended for the first time by observers from the United States and the World Bank, discussed technical issues related to the rules for filling and operating the dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile.

He also discussed how to come up with a balanced vision on controversial issues, how to reconcile the three countries' proposals on the initial operation of the dam and the amount of annual water flow.

Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation and Water Celishi Bagli said he agreed with the ministers of irrigation in Egypt and Sudan to continue negotiations by building on the outcome of the Addis Ababa meeting.

On the other hand, the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation - in a statement - that the Addis Ababa negotiations "have made progress, including filling the dam in a period of time up to seven years."

The statement pointed out that the negotiations included "the issue of permanent operation of the Renaissance Dam and its effects on the dam system in both Sudan and Egypt."

The meeting is the first of four meetings decided according to the outcome of a meeting in Washington between the foreign ministers of the three countries under the auspices of the United States, in which they reaffirmed their commitment to reach a comprehensive agreement and sustainable cooperation, with the final session in Washington by January 15, 2020.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Cairo on December 2 and 3, and Washington will host two meetings on December 9, 2019 and January 13, to assess and support the progress of negotiations, and if no agreement is reached by mid Next January, you can apply for mediation.

Cairo fears a possible negative impact of the dam on the flow of its annual share of the Nile River's water of 55 billion cubic meters, while Sudan gets 18.5 billion.

Addis Ababa, meanwhile, says it is not aimed at harming Egypt's interests, and that the dam's purpose is to generate electricity. The dam is expected to become Africa's largest hydroelectric source with a production capacity of 6,000 megawatts.

Cairo is demanding a guaranteed minimum annual volume of 40 billion cubic meters, which Ethiopia has not agreed to, citing "historic rights" in the river guaranteed by a series of treaties.

The Blue Nile, which originates in Ethiopia, meets the White Nile in Khartoum, forming together the Nile that crosses Sudan and Egypt, before flowing into the Mediterranean.