Nile dam: clock running down on last-ditch attempt to reach deal – The National

Nile dam: clock running down on last-ditch attempt to reach deal – The National

Negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan enter their final week with no signs of progress

















The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, near Guba in Ethiopia. AFP







A last-ditch, two-week window for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to negotiate a deal on the operation of a massive Nile dam being built by Addis Ababa is nearing its end without any tangible progress, leaving one of Africa's longest-simmering water disputes in danger of boiling over.



Representatives of the three nations met on Friday for an eighth consecutive day via videoconference and, according to the daily update put out by Egypt, there was no progress on the major outstanding issues.



This latest round in nearly a decade of talks on the issue has taken on more urgency because of Ethiopia's insistence that it will start filling the dam's reservoir even without a deal being reached. Egypt and Sudan oppose such a move, with Egyptian leaders saying Cairo would not never accept a status quo imposed on it.













The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or GERD, is being built on the Blue Nile near the Sudanese border. Ethiopia says its development