Madbouli follows up situation of Sadd Al-Nahda negotiations

CAIRO- 17 July 2019: Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli followed up the situation of Sadd Al-Nahda (Renaissance Dam) negotiations on Wednesday in the presence of several ministers and officials, according to a statement issued by the cabinet.

They discussed the recent developments in the negotiations on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the water situation in general.

The construction of the dam chilled relations between Addis Ababa and Cairo. Egypt said the construction would affect its share of Nile water, whereas Ethiopia has claimed the dam is necessary for its development. But in a move some have seen as a thaw, both states, along with Sudan, agreed to the tripartite talks that started in August 2014. The three countries signed an agreement on the Renaissance Dam to guarantee Egypt’s share of 55 billion cubic meters of the Nile water.

The filling process in the dam is abound to the Declaration of Principles signed in March 2015 including the cooperation of the three countries – Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan – to deploy the final output of joint studies in order to settle on the guidelines and rules for the first filling of the dam as well as the annual operating rules.

Constructions in the Grand Renaissance Dam started on April 2, 2011 at a cost of $4.8 billion. It is built by the Italian constructions and engineering company SalliniImpregilo headquartered in Milan.