Photo credit: Via spin.com
There has been constant heat gearing up along the Nile River for some time now, between neighboring countries like Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan and a war seemed like it would be the only solution to the problem, as Ethiopia vowed to continue with the Dam project in which Egypt was not in support
U.S president, Donald Trump received representatives from the respective countries to find a solution to the problem, and the meeting seemed to have yeilded some positive fruits.
According to BBC AFRICA, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have agreed to reach a final settlement on the controversial filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam along the River Nile by January next year.
The US hosted the foreign ministers of the three nations to try and resolve the long-running diplomatic row on the construction of the massive dam project being built in northern Ethiopia.
The Horn of Africa nation insists that no-one can stop the project, which is about 70% complete, but Egypt is worried about the impact on its water supplies and how much water will be used by Sudan.
On completion, the $4bn (£3bn) project would be Africa’s largest hydroelectric power station but it has been beset by delays and disputes.
A joint statement released by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin after the meeting said: “The ministers also agreed to work toward completion of an agreement by 15 January 2020, and would attend two meetings in Washington DC on 9 December 2019 and 13 January 2020, to assess and support progress.
“If an agreement is not reached by 15 January 2020, the foreign ministers agree that Article 10 of the 2015 Declaration of Principles will be invoked,” the statement said.
Article 10 says: “Three countries will settle disputes, arising out of the interpretation or implementation of this agreement, amicably through consultation or negotiation in accordance with the principle of good faith.”
The meeting agreed that the US and the World Bank would attend future negotiations as observers.
US President Donald Trump tweeted a photo of his meeting with the ministers:
Social embed from twitter
Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
Just had a meeting with top representatives from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan to help solve their long running dispute on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, one of the largest in the world, currently being built. The meeting went well and discussions will continue during the day!
