US, DRC discuss importance of reducing GERD conflict between Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia

US, DRC discuss importance of reducing GERD conflict between Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia

CAIRO- 22 July 2021: US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi discussed the importance of reducing the conflict between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to a statement by the US Department of State on Wednesday evening. Blinken "emphasized the importance of the African Union's role in reducing conflict and mediating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dispute. Both leaders expressed their commitment to working together so that the DRC can realize its vast potential and continue on a positive trajectory," the statement read. On July 6, 2021, the US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said in his daily Briefing that Ethiopia's second filling for GERD is a unilateral action which is 'fair to say that is a potential to raise tensions' between parties." A day earlier, Egypt's Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Ati received an official letter from his Ethiopian counterpart Seleshi Bekele confirming that Ethiopia started the second phase of filling the reservoir of its controversial mega dam. This comes despite Egyptian and Sudanese rejection of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Ethiopia builds on the Blue