This archive report was first published on 11 January 2020.
On January 11, 2020, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan remained deadlocked after two days of talks in their disputes over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River.
The countries are due to convene on January 13 in Washington with the aim of resolving their disagreements over the filling and operation of the $4 billion dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile.
According to Egyptian Water Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty, the countries did not reach an agreement but achieved clarity on all issues, including the filling. He expressed hope that a deal would be reached next week in Washington.
However, Ethiopian Water Minister Sileshi Bekele accused Egypt of coming to the talks with no intention of reaching a deal. He stated that Egypt presented a new proposal requesting the filling to be carried out in 12-21 years, which is not acceptable. Ethiopia plans to start the filling of the dam by July.
The dispute over the filling and operation of the massive dam has sparked a diplomatic crisis between Egypt and Ethiopia, who both see existential threats in each other's positions on the project.
Cairo fears the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will restrict supplies of already scarce Nile waters on which its population of more than 100 million people is almost entirely dependent.
On the other hand, Addis Ababa denies the dam will undermine Egypt's access to water and says the project is crucial to its economic development, as it aims to become Africa's biggest power exporter with a projected capacity of more than 6,000 megawatts.
