Congo to host Nile Dam talks amid rising tensions

Congo to host Nile Dam talks amid rising tensions
Amid military drills and escalatory rhetoric, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia will hold reconciliation talks in Kinshasa to revive stalled negotiations.
2 min read
Three countries have been deadlocked over the Renaissance Dam project [Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data]
Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia are expected to hold reconciliation talks in Kinshasa, Congo from Saturday, authorities confirmed.

Foreign ministers from the three countries are expected to attend the talks that are set to be hosted by Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi.

The chairman of the African Union Moussa Mahamat is also expected to attend the talks.

Egypt and Sudan, both of which have previously urged the African Union to take a more proactive role in resolving the dispute, signalled their support for Kinshasa to hold the talks earlier this week.

Egypt's Foreign Minister sameh Shoukry said Cairo has constantly stressed the importance of holding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam (GERD) negotiations within an African framework.

The African Union has been involved in multiple rounds of talks in the past, though little progress has been made.

Rising Tensions

On Wednesday, Cairo and Khartoum conducted joint military exercises amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

The conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region has added yet another volatile element to the relationship between Khartoum and Addis Ababa, with both countries accusing each other of gobbling up disputed territories.

Read also: Egypt's Sisi warns Ethiopia dam risks 'unimaginable instability'

The Grand Renaissance dam is expected to be the largest in Africa of its kind.

However, Egypt is concerned that it will affect its 55.5 billion cubic meter annual share of the Nile water, something that the regime considers to be a death sentence.

Egypt is classified as a water-scarce country, according to the World’s Resource institute.

Sudan has also raised similar concerns but unlike Egypt, it has other alternative sources of water.

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