Sudan in agreement with Ethiopia over Nile dam

Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has said that Khartoum and Addis Ababa are “aligned and in agreement” on a controversial Ethiopian dam on the Blue Nile which Egypt views as a threat.

Burhan’s remarks came during a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who was on a one-day visit to Khartoum, his first since Burhan led a 2021 military coup.

“Burhan emphasised… that Sudan and Ethiopia are aligned and in agreement on all issues regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD),” according to a statement by the sovereign council, which he chairs.

The dam has been the source of tensions between Ethiopia and downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, ever since work began in 2011.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed “confirmed that the Renaissance Dam will not cause any harm to Sudan but will have benefits for it in terms of electricity,” the statement said.

Multiple rounds of talks between the three governments have failed to produce an agreement over the filling and operation of the reservoir.

Egypt is dependent on the Nile for irrigation and drinking water and the Blue Nile accounts for more than 80 percent of its flow.

africanews