Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held talks in Khartoum with his Sudanese counterpart Abdullah Hamdok today, Saturday, days after Sudan requested to postpone negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
At the conclusion of the talks, a joint Sudanese-Egyptian statement stressed the necessity of continuing negotiations in order to reach a binding agreement to settle the dispute over filling and operating the Renaissance Dam, in a manner that preserves the interests of the three countries concerned.
The statement indicated that the two sides agreed to restructure the Nile Valley Authority for River Navigation between the two countries. Madbouly was accompanied on his visit by the ministers of irrigation, electricity, health, trade and industry.
The Sudanese agency quoted the Egyptian ambassador to Khartoum, Hossam Issa, as saying that the talks covered "all files related to bilateral relations, the electrical and railway connections, facilitating traffic through the crossings, and organizing trade, in addition to regional and international issues of common interest."
Eisa added that "the identical interests of Cairo and Khartoum make it imperative that they coordinate at the highest level in order to bring the relationship to a stage of complete integration."
This is the first visit of the Egyptian prime minister to Khartoum since the formation of the Sudanese transitional government in 2019.
The Renaissance Dam crisis
The visit comes amid tension resulting from Ethiopia's progress in the Renaissance Dam project on the Blue Nile. Last Monday, Khartoum requested that negotiations on the dam be postponed for a week for internal consultations.
The Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Yasser Abbas, recently stated that they, as a Sudanese delegation, noticed an Ethiopian-Egyptian rapprochement during the recent round of negotiations, which raised the interest of the Sudanese side.
Ethiopia considers the dam necessary to achieve economic development, while Egypt considers it a vital threat to it, as the Nile River is a source of more than 95% of the country's irrigation and drinking water.
Despite the objections of Egypt and Sudan, Ethiopia announced on July 21 that it had completed the first phase of filling the reservoir, amounting to 4.9 billion cubic meters, which allows testing the first two turbines in the dam.
The Vatican calls for dialogue
On the other hand, Pope Francis called for dialogue between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, and urged the three parties not to slide into armed conflict because of the dispute over the Renaissance Dam.
He said during a religious ceremony today, Saturday, "I call on all parties concerned to continue the path of dialogue so that the eternal river remains a source of life, unites and does not separate, promotes friendship, prosperity and brotherhood, not hostility, misunderstanding and conflict."
Since 2011, the three countries have been negotiating to reach an agreement on filling and operating the dam, but despite these years, they have failed to reach an agreement.