Sudan Rejects Ethiopia Proposal to Fill the GERD

Sudan has rejected the proposal to manage the filling of the dam for a second time, as the draft meets only one of Sudan’s four conditions to accept an interim agreement according to a Sudanese official, deepening a regional dispute over the project.

Sudan considers the GERD a “means of cooperation between the three countries [Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt], and rejects the hegemonic approach imposed by Ethiopia as a fait accompli by continuing the second filling without a binding agreement,” said an official.

Sudan and Egypt last week sent letters requesting an urgent session of the UN Security Council to discuss the GERD.

In the request, Sudan called on the council to urge Ethiopia to stop the “unilateral” filling of the dam, “which exacerbates the dispute and poses a threat to regional and international peace and security.”

Ethiopia has pinned hopes of development and power generation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), while downstream Sudan is concerned about regulating flows to its own dams and Egypt fears an impact on its water supply.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sudan-rejects-ethiopian-plan-fill-giant-dam-second-time-senior-official-2021-06-27/

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/sudan-asks-un-security-council-meet-over-ethiopias-blue-nile-dam-2021-06-22/

https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3051526/sudan-receives-ethiopia%E2%80%99s-interim-deal-proposal-gerd