Nile Dam Talks Stall as Ethiopia Prepares for Key Filling Stage

(Bloomberg) -- Talks aimed at resolving a dispute over Ethiopia’s giant Nile dam ended without progress, as Egypt and Sudan urged further international mediation before Ethiopia begins the critical second phase of filling the reservoir.

No agreement was reached on resuming discussions and Ethiopia rejected a proposal from Sudan, backed by Egypt, to expand the group of mediators beyond the African Union, which hosted the latest talks, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.

Ethiopia’s rejection of Egypt and Sudan’s suggestions “reveals an absence of political will by Ethiopia to negotiate in good faith,” the ministry said. Officials from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan had been meeting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the president of which is the African Union’s current chairman.

Ethiopia is developing a 6,000-megawatt power plant at the so-called Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and is expected to begin a second filling of the reservoir when the next rainy season begins in July. Egypt, which depends on the Nile for most of its fresh-water needs, is opposed to any development it says will impact the downstream flow of the river -- a position that’s echoed by Sudan.

Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly condemned any unilateral action by Ethiopia in creating the planned 74 billion cubic-meter reservoir and want the three nations to agree on a plan for filling and operation first.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi warned last week that any attempt to take “a drop of Egypt’s water” would have a destabilizing effect on the whole region.

Egypt had previously described the meetings in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, as the “last chance” to revive negotiations before the filling. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told an Egyptian TV channel on Tuesday that Egypt and Sudan would appraise the United Nations and European Union of the latest developments.

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