This archive report was first published on 29 October 2019.
On November 6, Egypt and Ethiopia will meet in Washington to break the deadlock in the ongoing negotiations over the Renaissance Dam, a $4 billion hydro-electric project that has been a source of tension between the two countries.
The dam, which is being built by Ethiopia, is necessary to provide the country with much-needed electricity, according to Addis Ababa. However, Egypt fears that the structure could drastically stem the flow of the Nile, on which it depends for around 90 percent of its water supply.
After calling for international mediation to break the stalemate in nine-year talks, Cairo accepted a US invitation to meet earlier in the month, but no date was set. US officials will be present at the talks acting as intermediaries to bring about a fair and just agreement, according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
The dispute over the Nile dam has been ongoing for years, with Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan failing to reach an agreement on the project's impact on the river's flow. The Nile is a lifeline supplying both water and electricity to the 10 countries it traverses, and analysts fear that the three Nile basin countries could be drawn into a conflict if the dispute is not resolved before the dam begins operating.
