Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi (R), Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (C) and Sudanese counterpart, Omar Hassan al-Bashir (L) during a tripartite summit at the AU's 30th summit on January 29, 2018 – Press photoCAIRO – 29 January 2018: A tripartite summit between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia on a presidential level convened on Monday, on the sidelines of the African Union (AU)’s 30th summit in Addis Ababa.President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn discussed the controversial issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) at Sisi's presidential residence in Addis Ababa.The tripartite summit discussed means of enhancing cooperation between the three countries, continuing intensive consultation, and coordination on various subjects of common interest. They also agreed to exchange technical information and studies between the three countries.President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi asserted that the negotiations between the three countries should preserve common interests. The two-day AU summit will end on Monday.The summit follows years of negotiations, since May 2011, between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over GERD. Egypt has voiced its concerns regarding the dam’s capacity of water storage, fearing that it may negatively affect its share of Nile water.However, Ethiopia has repeatedly denied any negative effect from the GERD on Egypt’s share of the Nile water, as stipulated in the statements made by Ethiopian Prime Minister Desalegn during his official visit to Cairo last week.Egypt previously approved the report prepared by PRL Consulting Company on the guidelines to be followed during GERD’s construction period. However, Ethiopia and Sudan rejected the report’s findings, crippling the continuation of necessary studies to establish the dam.

Source: Egypt Today January 29, 2018 23:15 UTC