The resumption of the tripartite talks on the Renaissance Dam, with a tweet by the Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation
Talks resumed on Sunday over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which has long fueled tensions in the Nile River basin, after Egypt and Sudan expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached.
The three countries are conducting a conference by phone, in which the ministers of foreign affairs and water resources will participate, and organized by South Africa, which recently took over the management of the negotiations in its capacity as the current chair of the African Union.
The meeting started according to a tweet by Ethiopian Minister of Water Resources Celeshi Bekele.
The Renaissance Dam that Ethiopia has been building on the Blue Nile since 2011 has become a source of intense tension between Addis Ababa on the one hand, and Cairo and Khartoum on the other hand.
This dam is expected to become the largest water-based electric power plant in Africa.
Since 2011, the three countries have been negotiating to reach an agreement on filling and operating the dam, but despite the passage of these years, they have failed to reach an agreement.
In June, Ethiopia announced that it had begun filling its giant dam, which worried Cairo and Khartoum.
The talks were suspended earlier this month after Addis Ababa insisted that the operation of the Renaissance Dam be linked to the sharing of the waters of the Blue Nile.
On Saturday, the prime ministers of Egypt and Sudan expressed their optimism that an agreement could be reached.
"The two parties see the need to reach a binding agreement that guarantees the rights and interests of the three countries in accordance with the Declaration of Principles agreement signed in 2015 and the principles of international law, provided that it guarantees an effective and binding mechanism for settling disputes," a joint statement said.
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