Addis Ababa, December 20, 2023 (Addis Walta) The fourth round tripartite negotiation on Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) ended without striking a deal due to failure to reach an agreement on water share distribution.
The Ethiopian negotiating team leader, Ambassador Selshi Bekele, said that although Ethiopia follows an approach based on equality and fair use of Nile water, Egypt has a strong desire to reach an agreement on the ”equal sharing of the water quota” it claims exist.
This Egyptian interest puts Ethiopian future development opportunities in danger.
In the last five months, the tripartite negotiations have been held following the understanding reached between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) of Ethiopia, and President Abdel Fatah el Sisi of Egypt on 13 July 2023.
During the negotiation at Cairo, the three countries have reached an agreement on articles 1-6. However, they fail to agree on article 7 which focuses on water share.
The Ambassador said that Ethiopia still has a firm belief that the three countries should resolve the differences in a way that benefits them all.
