Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed today to extend negotiations on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam for the second time and for a final session until Monday, after the end of a negotiating session in which the irrigation ministers of the three countries participated, in order to overcome the differences over the filling and operation of the dam.

A senior source in the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said that two separate sessions will be held tomorrow, for the legal and technical committees. The three countries will put their observations and proposals to submit the final report to the presidency of the African Union, to hold a press conference later to review the results.

The Sudanese capital, Khartoum, is embracing the Renaissance Dam negotiations between the three countries, under the auspices of the African Union and the participation of international observers. The negotiations reached Sunday, their tenth day, without registering a breakthrough in the differences between the three parties.

Ongoing disputes
The Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation said that the recent negotiation session reflected the continuation of differences on the main issues, foremost of which is the agreement to fill and operate the dam, in light of Cairo and Khartoum refusing to fill it without an agreement, while Ethiopia insists on filling the dam later this month.

Cairo rejected a proposal from Addis Ababa to postpone the settlement of disputes until after signing an agreement on the operation of the dam.
On the other hand, the Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining, Khairi Abdul Rahman, said that his country will produce electricity, taking advantage of the relative rise in the water level of the Blue Nile River after filling the Renaissance Dam.

Informed sources indicated that the controversial points regarding the dam are related to the operation and filling of the dam in the period of drought, prolonged drought, and lack of rain. Ethiopia has submitted a proposal to seize water at 74 billion cubic meters over a period of 7 years if it is rainy, whether it is a period of drought, prolonged drought, or lack of rain; It proposes reserving water in stages so as not to harm the two downstream countries (Sudan and Egypt).

The same sources added that Cairo rejected the Ethiopian proposal, sticking to its share of water in the Nile, that is, 55.5 billion cubic meters under the 1959 agreement between Egypt and Sudan.

Cairo also calls on Addis Ababa to recognize the three previous agreements for the distribution of water quotas in 1902, 1929 and 1959. The latter rejected this because it was not a party to these agreements.