CAIRO: Ethiopian Minister of Water Resources Alamayo Tgueno confirmed in a press conference Tuesday that the meeting between the ministries of water of the Eastern Nile Basin-Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt- was delayed because of conflicts over the configuration of a supervising committee meant to oversee construction of the Renaissance Dam.
The Ethiopian minister expects these disaccords to be overcome before the next meeting on Dec. 8, he said in the press conference held at the Ethiopian Embassy in Khartoum.
He stressed that the Ethiopian government accepts the expert committee’s report and its final decision to establish the dam according to the international standards without negative impact on countries downstream.
Tgueno renewed Ethiopia’s commitment to the sustainability of real cooperation with Sudan and Egypt. This cooperation means to maximize the dam’s benefit for all parties.
Sudanese Minister of Water Resources Osama Abd Allah stressed in his statement the importance of the meeting in this historical phase. He also hoped the meeting would conclude in favor of enhancing the joint cooperation between the three countries.
Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdul Muttalib said in the conference that the meeting is a pivotal point for the three countries in the framework of aspiring to complete what was started two years ago.
He confirmed that Egypt will continue supporting all aspects of development in the Nile Basin region. Also he said Egypt was not opposed to the development, explaining that it aims to achieve joint development for international benefits.
Muttalib added after his return to Cairo Tuesday that the meeting held in Khartoum did not fail, stressing the continuity of communication and negotiations between the three countries.
