Ethiopia called upon members of the United Nations Security Council (#UNSC) to urge Egypt and Sudan to return to the tripartite negotiations on the first filling and annual operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and respect the AU-led process.
In a letter addressed to the current President of the UNSC on 16 April 2021, Ethiopiaโs Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen recalled the #AU-led process has enjoyed the full support of the UN Security Council on the basis of the principles of complementarity and in the spirit of finding African solutions to African problems.
However, Egypt and Sudan are not negotiating in good faith and are not ready to make the necessary concessions to reach a win-win outcome, he said.
He further stated that the two countries chose to โscuttlingโ the negotiation and โinternationalizingโ the issue to exert undue pressure on Ethiopia.
The letter affirmed Ethiopiaโs unwavering commitment and trust over the AU-led tripartite negotiation and expressed the countryโs gratitude for the genuine efforts of South Africa and now the Democratic Republic Congo to address the matter in the spirit of African solutions for African problems.
The letter also recalled Ethiopiaโs initiative on data exchange before the commencement of the second filling of the dam in the upcoming rainy season, which the two downstream countries declined.
The insistence by the two countries to maintain the unjust status quo and foreclose Ethiopiaโs water use upstream of the GERD under the pretext of โconcluding a binding comprehensive agreementโ is unacceptable, said the letter.
The letter also underlined #Ethiopiaโs firm commitment to the Declaration of Principle (DoP) that was signed by the leaders of the three countries and noted that Egypt and Sudan are reneging their commitment that they have entered under the DoP.
In concluding, the letter declared that โAny attempt to pressure Ethiopiaโ and sideline the AU-led process will โfurther undermine trust and confidence among the three countriesโ.
