Ethiopia reaches deal with Sudan, Egypt on giant dam’s impact

Several days of negotiations in Khartoum between the foreign and water ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan culminated in an announcement on 6 March of an agreement on the filling, operation and impact of the giant 6,000MW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), which is being built on the Blue Nile. Details of the agreement have yet to be disclosed, and this is unlikely before it has been ratified by heads of state. However, the agreement was hailed as “the beginning of more co-operation between our three countries” by Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukri, “a new path in the relations of our three countries” by Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti, and “a new chapter” by Ethiopian foreign minister Tedros Adhanom.