South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the resumption of negotiations on the Renaissance Dam, on Tuesday, between the irrigation ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia under the auspices of the African Union.
Ramaphosa welcomed the commitment of the parties to resume negotiations in the spirit of cooperation and good intentions to reach an agreement acceptable to all.
He added that this step represents a reaffirmation of the confidence of the three parties in the African-led negotiations, stressing that the success of the negotiations will enhance integration, regional cooperation and sustainable development, and will benefit all of Africa.
In turn, the Sudanese authorities announced the holding of a virtual meeting, on Tuesday, of the irrigation ministers in Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, to discuss the resumption of the Renaissance Dam negotiations.
According to the official Sudanese News Agency, the tripartite meeting will be held at the invitation of the State of South Africa and the sponsorship of the African Union through the "Video Conference" technology.
The official agency quoted the Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Yasser Abbas, as saying, "The tripartite negotiations will resume under the auspices of the African Union to reach a binding agreement on filling and operating the Al-Nahsa Dam."
He added that Sudan could not continue negotiations with the same methods and methods that were used during the previous rounds, which led to a dead end of round negotiations.
The Sudanese minister suggested granting experts and observers a bigger and more effective role to advance negotiations and bring points of view between the three countries according to a tight schedule.
On Saturday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said, in a statement, that "there is no force" that could prevent his country from achieving its goals, which it had planned regarding the Renaissance Dam.
This came a day after US President Donald Trump accused Addis Ababa of violating an agreement on the dam.
Trump said, in a phone call with the Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdullah Hamdok, on Friday, that "the situation related to the Renaissance Dam crisis is dangerous, and that the matter may end with the Egyptians exploding the dam."
On Saturday, Addis Ababa accused the US president of "inciting a war" against it.
And last February, tripartite negotiations took place between Cairo, Khartoum and Addis Ababa, in Washington, at the conclusion of which Egypt signed in initials a tripartite agreement on the rules for filling the dam, while Ethiopia abstained from signing.
Over the past years, negotiations between the three countries have faltered, amid mutual accusations between Cairo and Addis Ababa of intransigence and a desire to impose unrealistic solutions.
Addis Ababa insists on filling the dam even if it does not reach an agreement with Cairo and Khartoum, while the latter two insist on the need to first reach a tripartite agreement on the dam on the Blue Nile, one of the tributaries of the Nile River.
Cairo fears the potential negative impact of the dam on the flow of its annual share of the Nile water, amounting to 55.5 billion cubic meters, while Sudan gets 18.5 billion, while Addis Ababa says it does not aim to harm Egypt's interests, and that the aim of building the dam is primarily to generate electricity.