CAIRO, October 28. /TASS/. Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed to resume negotiations on the Renaissance Dam project on the Blue Nile almost three months after the talks were put on hold, the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said.
The agreement was reached during a video conference of irrigation ministers from the three countries on Tuesday. It was held on the initiative of the African Union’s current chair, South Africa, and observed by envoys of the United States, the European Union and the African Union.
"During the meeting, Egypt reaffirmed the importance of reaching a legally binding agreement on the principles of filling [the reservoir] with water and using the dam. The document will protect the common interests of the three states and meet their demand for water," the Egyptian ministry said in a statement.
The sides agreed that Sudan, which will chair the new round of the talks, will organize week-long consultations during which the sides will focus on reviewing the final agreement. The exact date of the talks is yet to be announced.
Cairo announced the suspension of the talks on August 4, citing Addis Ababa’s controversial stance as a reason.
Since 2011, Ethiopia has been implementing a project on construction of the Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. The dam is supposed to become the largest in Africa, consisting of 15 radial-axis hydraulic units. The capacity of the hydroelectric power station will be 5,250 MW. Addis Ababa intends to put it into operation in 2022-2023. The project cost is $4.6 billion. Implementation of this huge project would enable Ethiopia to provide the country with electricity and also to export to neighboring states. Egypt and Sudan suspect that the project might cause the level of water in the river to go down, affect fair water distribution and even cause drought.