Nile dam meeting ends with no deal, to resume next day

Foreign and water ministers of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia on Friday ended their closed-door meetings in Khartoum with not agreement on issues regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The closed-door meetings continued for about four hours, while the official opening session was not convened.

Sudanese foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters that the talks would be resumed on Saturday, adding that there is hope to bridge the gaps.

However, a source close to the closed-door consultations told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the difference between the Ethiopian and Egyptian delegations was still wide, pointing out that the Sudanese foreign and water ministers were exerting intensive efforts to narrow the viewpoints.

According to the source, Egypt's demands focus on the necessity to study the impacts of the dam and water shares allotted for each country concerned.

He added that Cairo also wants Ethiopia to suspend the construction of the dam until an abiding agreement is reached.

Friday's meetings were scheduled to be held in Khartoum last November, but Cairo insisted on delaying the meetings so that the foreign ministers of the three countries would be able to join the water ministers in a six-member meeting.

Last March, the leaders of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia signed an initial cooperation deal on sharing the Nile River and the construction of the GERD.

The GERD puts Egypt on alert as Cairo fears that the construction of the dam would affect its share in the Nile water, which amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meter, while Ethiopia reiterates that the dam is likely to make a shift in its wealth, namely in the field of electricity.

The GERD, extending on an area of 1,800 square km, is scheduled to be completed in three years at a cost of 4.7 billion U.S. dollars. Enditem