The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said that he hoped the parties to the crisis in the Renaissance Dam issue would allow the Union to provide assistance in resolving the outstanding disputes between them.

He pointed out that Ethiopia and Sudan want a greater participation in African mediation in the issue of the Renaissance Dam, but Egypt has reservations about that given the existence of a process that had previously started in Washington.

He added that the matter is left to the parties, but "we hope that they allow the African Union and its good offices and experiences to help resolve the outstanding disputes because they agree on a large number of issues."

The Chairperson noted that these types of issues should be resolved peacefully, preferably by the Africans themselves.

The rainy season


For his part, the Ethiopian ambassador to Cairo, Marcus Tekeli, expressed his hope that an agreement on the Renaissance Dam would be reached within the next 6 months, before the rainy season comes, as his country will hold water for the second time to fill the dam reservoir.

"We cannot say that Ethiopia is filling the dam reservoir, we are only holding the water, and last year we detained a small amount, only 6%," Tekle added.

"We hope that more rains will come next year, so that we can seize more water," he said, expressing his hope that an agreement will be reached with Egypt and Sudan in the coming months.

Egypt considers the Renaissance Dam as a threat to its share in the Nile water (the island)

Sudan is the most affected


, for its part, Sudan stressed the importance of continuing negotiations as the only way to resolve the existing disputes between Khartoum, Cairo and Addis Ababa over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

This came with the intervention of Foreign Undersecretary Mohamed Sharif Abdullah during an event of the ministry, in conjunction with the ministries of Irrigation, Water Resources, Culture and Information, with ambassadors of the European Group and the Americas, on the latest developments in the Renaissance Dam negotiations and Sudan's position on the file, according to what the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) reported.

Abdullah considered that Sudan is the most affected country in the Renaissance Dam negotiations if a binding agreement on filling and operation is not reached.

The Sudanese official also reaffirmed his country's commitment and respect for the mediation of the African Union, and his desire to produce a solution that guarantees the conclusion of a binding agreement for all parties according to new negotiating methods to be agreed upon, with the African Union experts given a greater role.

It is noteworthy that Ethiopia began construction of the Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile in 2011, and Egypt fears the impact of the dam on its share of water, which amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meters annually, most of which it gets from the Blue Nile.

Egypt and Sudan are calling for a binding legal agreement that includes stipulating rules for the safety of the dam, its filling in times of drought, the operating system, and a dispute settlement mechanism.

Negotiations between the three countries under the auspices of the African Union stopped since last August, without reaching an agreement, at which time Ethiopia announced the end of the first filling phase of the dam.