Egypt, Sudan discuss Ethiopia's Nile dam, affirm shared water security
The two sides affirmed their joint commitment to enhance consultation and coordination, and to work with other Nile Basin Initiative states to restore consensus and preserve the initiative as an inclusive cooperation framework that benefits all basin countries.
Egypt and Sudan on Wednesday voiced rejection of any unilateral measures regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) built on the Nile River, reaffirming that their water security is one and indivisible.
The stance was announced in Cairo during a meeting under the "2+2" consultation mechanism, which brought together Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilem, alongside Sudanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Omer Siddiq and Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Ismat Qureshi, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting.
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The two sides emphasised the need to secure their shared water security as the Nile's downstream countries, stressing joint action to preserve their full rights and uses in accordance with the governing legal framework of the river, international law, and the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement.
The two sides affirmed their joint commitment to enhance consultation and coordination, and to work with other Nile Basin Initiative states to restore consensus and preserve the initiative as an inclusive cooperation framework that benefits all basin countries.
The two sides stressed that the GERD issue remains a matter between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, rejecting any attempts to involve other Nile Basin states in the dispute.
Egypt and Sudan urged Ethiopia to revise its policy and restore cooperation among Nile Basin states.
The two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, have repeatedly voiced concerns over their water shares following the construction of the GERD by upstream Ethiopia. Years of trilateral negotiations have failed to produce a binding legal agreement on the rules of filling and operating the dam.
The Egyptian and Sudanese ministers pledged to deepen the longstanding ties between the two countries and voiced rejection of any threat to Sudan's unity and territorial integrity, vowing to further joint consultation to restore stability in Sudan.
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