Ethiopia: major maneuvers around the Renaissance dam

The Great Renaissance Dam on the Nile in Ethiopia, September 26, 2019. REUTERS / Tiksa Negeri

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The start of refilling next July of a mega hydroelectric dam on the Nile, announced last week by Ethiopia, continues to provoke reactions in neighboring countries. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday asked Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt to "persevere" in their efforts to reach an agreement, while the Washington talks have been suspended since February.

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This is the favorite little phrase of Ethiopian diplomats lately: "  African problems must have African solutions  ".

Regarding the Renaissance dam , this principle would also be supported by the African ambassadors assembled Tuesday by the Ethiopian government, according to a press release from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

And the affirmation of this principle sheds new light on the distrust of the United States, expressed by Ethiopia in a recent letter of explanation sent to the UN Security Council. In this letter, signed in April by foreign minister Gedu Andargachew, Washington is accused of having put Ethiopia " under pressure  " last February, forcing it to "  sign an agreement before all the pending problems are resolved." resolved  ”. "  Ethiopia is maneuvering, playing on the emergency, to force Egypt to do without Washington's support  ," said an Ethiopian journalist who is following the case closely.

Suddenly, it is Sudan which is now working to bring everyone back to a negotiating table. Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok consulted his Egyptian counterpart Moustapha Madbouli on Tuesday. After writing to Ethiopian Abiy Ahmed, he said he would telephone him in the coming days to convince him to return to "  tripartite talks  ". Ethiopia has already indicated that it agrees with this formula if applied "  in good faith  ". And in any case, without the supervision of the Americans.

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  • Ethiopia
  • Sudan
  • Egypt

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