Ahmed Abdullah-Addis Ababa
The Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources in Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia ended yesterday evening in Addis Ababa, which lasted for two days, on the file of the Renaissance Dam, and decided to form a mini committee to look into all contentious issues, according to a Sudanese diplomatic source who spoke to Al Jazeera Net.
The ministers began the fourth and final meeting of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations on Wednesday, with representatives from the World Bank and the United States as observers.
The diplomatic source - who preferred not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media - said that the meeting failed in how to discuss proposals for technical elements ruling to fill and operate the dam, and deal with droughts, in addition to the coordination mechanism for operating the dam between the three countries.
For his part, the Ethiopian Irrigation Minister, Seleche Baqli, announced that the last round of the dam negotiations ended without reaching an agreement, after Egypt submitted a new request to extend the filling period to 21 years.
Baqli added in a press conference held at the end of the meeting, that the Egyptian delegation came without intention of the agreement, noting that Ethiopia would start mobilizing the dam in July.
In a related context, Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Atti said that after a two-day meeting in Addis Ababa we did not reach an agreement, adding, "But at least we have achieved clarity on all issues, including filling (the tank), and we hope to reach an agreement next week in Washington." .
Foreign statement
For its part, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said that Egypt submitted a new proposal demanding that the period of filling the dam be from 12 to 21 years, and that Ethiopia must compensate for the "cumulative deficit" for the water it uses to fill the dam.
In a statement issued at the end of the meeting, the ministry added that Ethiopia had suggested that the filling period for the dam be between 4 to 7 years. She also suggested taking measures to mitigate droughts or prolonged droughts while filling and operating the dam.
The statement pointed out that the Ethiopian proposals allow to prevent serious damage to the downstream countries, and take into account the proposals of Egypt and Sudan.
He continued that the principle of uncooperative natural flow deprived Ethiopia of its just and sovereign right to use its natural resources.
Request mediation
In this regard, a meeting in Washington with the US Treasury Department for Foreign and Irrigation Ministers in the three countries is scheduled to take place on January 13, in light of the outcomes of the Washington meeting on November 6.
If no agreement is reached, then Article 10 of the Declaration of Principles signed between the three countries on the dam will be used in 2015.
This article gives the parties concerned the right to request mediation, which is a repeated Egyptian demand, or refer the matter to the chiefs to discuss any dispute.
Cairo fears the potential negative impact of the dam on the flow of its annual share of the Nile's water, which amounts to 55 billion cubic meters, while Sudan gets 18.5 billion.
Addis Ababa says it does not aim to harm Egypt's interests, and that the aim of building the dam is to generate electricity in the first place.