Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation Seleshi Bekele announced on Sunday that the lower exits of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have begun operating, with a total capacity of 1,860 cubic meters per second, in preparation for the dam’s second filling in July. The ministry further said that the best way to make progress on GERD is to continue the tripartite negotiations to reach a win-win outcome. Egypt announced earlier this month that the latest round of GERD negotiations, held in Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo on April 4-5, were a failure. Ethiopia also shut down all other proposals and alternatives put forward by Egypt and Sudan in order to move along the negotiation process. Both Sudan and Egypt have turned to the United Nations Security Council in hopes of a resolution on the dispute.

Source: Egypt Independent April 22, 2021 09:33 UTC