Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who visited Addis Ababa this week, said his country is satisfied with the result of the tripartite negotiation on the future of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
After arriving in Addis Ababa on Thursday, the Egyptian Minister met and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues with his counterpart Tedros Adhanom (PhD), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.
In a joint press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs located off Menelik II Avenue, Sameh Shoukry expressed that he is content with the outcome of the tripartite dialogue held in Khartoum on the future of the GERD that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile River.
"We are satisfied with the results of trilateral, technical committee that recently met in Khartoum," the minister noted. "It was an occasion for all sides to demonstrate the level of confidence that has been built based on the meeting of the leaders at Malabo [the capital of Equatorial Guinea] in the interest of both sides to consider and evaluate the situation from the perspective of one from the other."
He added that the current relationship with Ethiopia meets the expectation of his country on areas of new cooperation. "We want that it goes with the spirit of Malabo", he added.
In June President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn met in Malabo during the Heads of States Summit. That was cause for a new phase in the relationship. They agreed on a range of issues, mainly to resume negotiations around the Renaissance Dam that had caused tension between the two nations.
The Egyptian minister believes that there is now recognition that the Nile binds historically and will bind the two peoples to the future as a source of benefit and mutual cooperation. "We discussed how best we can move forward with higher political dialogue and direct meetings at the level of heads of state," Shoukry stressed.
Welcoming the Egyptian Minister calling him "my brother," Tedros Adhanom, on his part expressed that the current discussion was part of the spirit he noted to have "regular contact" during his visit to Cairo attending the inauguration of President El-Sisi. Tedros had the chance to discus with the president during that occasion that staged for the meetings of the two heads of state in Malabo.
"What we have agreed today in our discussion is to use as many bonds as possible to bring the two countries even closer," Tedros hoped.
Stressing on the success of the tripartite negotiation held in Khartoum, where Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed to implement the recommendations of the International Panel of Experts (IpoE), Tedros noted that since June they have made several engagements including regular phone calls. "It is by building confidence and trust that we can really bring our countries close, " he explained.
The two ministers also agreed to form a joint ministerial commission in the coming October. The Reporter learnt that there are agreements of cooperation expected to be signed during the meeting ahead on agriculture, health, pipeline, air services, urban development and tourism. There is also a plan to have a joint business forum.
"There is a lot we can learn from Egypt," Tedros said.
During a tripartite talk in Khartoum, water ministers of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan agreed to establish a committee to conduct the studies recommended by the International Panel of Experts. Tripartite National Committee (TNC) comprising four experts from each country will conduct the studies recommended by the Panel.
The studies will cover Water Resources/Hydropower System Simulation Model and a Trans-boundary Environmental and Socio-Economic Impact Assessment.
The GERD, expected to generate about 6,000mw power, will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa, as well as the 8th largest in the world when completed.
The dam is a national high investment of USD 4.5 billion. Ethiopia is building the dam using local resources. One of the means of mobilizing financial sources is by selling bonds locally and abroad.
