This archive report was first published on 9 June 2020.
On Tuesday, Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia will resume negotiations over the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a contentious mega-project that has been a source of tension between the three Nile basin countries.
The talks, which will be held via videoconference, come after a nine-year stalemate in negotiations. The United States and the World Bank had sponsored talks from November 2019 in an effort to reach an agreement between the three riparian states.
Earlier this year, Egypt announced it was re-entering talks over the filling of the dam's 74 billion cubic meter reservoir, with the goal of reaching a 'fair, balanced, and comprehensive agreement.'
However, Sudan had rejected an Ethiopian proposal to sign an initial agreement greenlighting the filling of the reservoir, citing outstanding 'legal and technical problems.'
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which is planned as Africa's largest hydroelectric installation, has been a source of tension with Egypt since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011.
Both Khartoum and Cairo fear the 145-meter-high dam will threaten their essential water supplies once the reservoir starts being filled in July as planned by Addis Ababa.
