Faced with the stalling of negotiations on the Nile file, Egypt and Sudan have shown an interest in resuming discussions in favor of a settlement of this issue around which the countries crossed by this river so important for their families are struggling. water resources and for their agriculture.
The positive reaction of the two countries comes the day after a declaration adopted by the UN Security Council which called on the belligerents to resume their negotiations to find an agreement on the controversial dam at the level of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia and which provokes the wrath of Cairo.
The intervention of the Security Council which goes in the direction of a resumption of the discussions under the aegis of the African Union (AU) which is in charge of the file but, this declaration was not to the taste of the Ethiopia.
Ethiopia’s foreign ministry has criticized the Security Council for taking an interest in this regional conflict as it has exceeded its mandate. Ethiopia does not want a body other than the AU to interfere in this problem.
For its part, Egypt welcomed the intervention of the Security Council, welcoming this statement by speaking of “significant momentum” according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
For Sudan, this is above all a change of method that should be adopted. As the country received a delegation from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the current president of the AU, Khartoum took the opportunity to call for a change in the negotiations
“We must change the ineffective method that characterized the previous talks,” the Sudanese foreign ministry said. The 10-year-old file is still a regional problem that does not seem to find a solution.
Ethiopia, which believes it has the right to take advantage of these waters like the two countries bordered by this river, has built a mega dam there to generate electricity. But Egypt, which is located at the mouth of the river, feels aggrieved because water will flow less and less while the country relies on the Nile for more than 90% for its water needs.
The mega dam project which is perceived by Addis Ababa as vital for its energy has created a real diplomatic crisis between the three countries. The African Union is trying somehow to find a solution to this conflict but Ethiopia is determined to continue the second phase of construction of its dam while Egypt is firmly opposed to it, and finally Sudan is mainly looking for a agreement that would regulate the flow of water between the three countries.
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