Nile Dam Dispute: Can US-Sponsored Talks Calm The Troubled Waters?

Nile Dam Dispute: Can US-Sponsored Talks Calm The Troubled Waters?

The Nile is shared by 11 countries, with Ethiopia contributing to the river more than 85% from tributaries that make up what is termed as the Blue Nile.. At one point in early years of construction, Egypt and its ally Saudi Arabia plotted to bomb the dam -- a plot which leaked with the video circulating far and wide.. At the heart of the Nile impasse, lies Egypt's insistence on a 1959 colonial period agreement between Egypt and Sudan, giving the former a 55.5 billion cubic meters of water, while reserving 18.5 billion cubic meters for Sudan.. It stated that the three countries should cooperate to reach an agreement on the guidelines for different scenarios of the first filling of the GERD in parallel with the construction of the dam, and an agreement on the guidelines, as well as annual operation policies of the dam.. The major sticking points include the different scenarios of drought and extended drought, if and when it happens -- such as the one in 1984 -- and how much water should Ethiopia be releasing downstream in those scenarios..