Ethiopia and Sudan want to reach agreement on controversial dam Half a million dollars under pillow: South African president needs explanation

Ethiopia and Sudan want to try to resolve a long-standing dispute over a massive dam project.

This was announced by Ethiopian Vice President and Foreign Minister HE Demeke Mekonnen and Sudanese President General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan after a meeting in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. The dam is being built in Ethiopia and is intended to contain the Blue Nile, which also affects the countries bordering the river, Sudan and Egypt.

According to the announcement, Ethiopia and Sudan want to resolve issues affecting their border region peacefully – through existing agreements and mechanisms. “Both sides have expressed their belief that the goodwill and cooperation of Sudan and Ethiopia will contribute to the effort to discuss the differences trilaterally,” Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday. Egypt was not explicitly mentioned in the text. Trilateral talks between the countries bordering the Nile had failed in the past. The Nile Dam is controversial in Egypt, as it is in Sudan.

Ethiopia commissioned the first of 13 turbines at the Great Renaissance Dam (GERD) in February. The $4.6 billion dam, which is being built in northwestern Ethiopia, is expected to be Africa’s largest dam when completed in 2023. According to Ethiopian information, the dam will generate up to 6,500 megawatts of electricity from hydropower in the future.

(sda/dpa)