Sudan calls for dialogue to reach solutions on Ethiopian dam

KHARTOUM, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Tuesday stressed importance of continued and constructive negotiation and dialogue between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia to reach satisfactory solutions regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour on Tuesday received a U.S. delegation, headed by Eric Stromayer, the Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of African Affairs, who is currently visiting Sudan to get acquainted with viewpoints regarding the GERD.

According to a statement by Sudan's Foreign Ministry Tuesday, Ghandour stressed importance of continuing the constructive negotiation and dialogue and working to narrow the viewpoints prior to reaching "positive and satisfactory results for all parties."

He further stressed the importance of the tripartite meeting for the foreign and irrigation ministers as well as the chiefs of intelligence and security of the three countries, scheduled to be held in Khartoum in the coming April.

The talks between the three countries on the GERD have witnessed stalemate after they failed to reach agreement on a technical report prepared by a French consultancy firm about the dam.

In late December 2017, Egypt proposed for the Ethiopian side to involve the World Bank as a neutral party in the activities of the tripartite technical committee, but Ethiopia refused the Egyptian proposal.

Egypt fears that the construction of the dam would affect its share in the Nile water, while Ethiopia reiterated 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