The Egyptian foreign and irrigation ministers told US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman on Wednesday that Egypt still hopes an agreement is reached on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) before the second phase of filling scheduled for next summer. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati met with Feltman in Cairo as part of his tour that also includes Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Feltman also met with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday. Tensions have escalated around the GERD issue between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. Previous rounds of African Union-sponsored talks to reach a consensus have all been deadlocked. During the meeting, the ministers reviewed with Feltman the decade-long GERD negotiations path, starting with Ethiopia's decision to construct the dam without consulting with the two downstream countries, the ministry statement read. The ministers also shed light on the ongoing negotiations among the three countries to reach a deal over the filling and operation of the dam. They said these negotiations have fallen short due to Ethiopia's intransigence and rejection of all technical proposals introduced by Egypt or international mediators regarding the dam filling and operation. This includes an agreement that was concluded as a result of the US-brokered talks that started in 2019 and lasted for a few months before Ethiopia said it would not sign the deal. Ethiopia has reiterated its plans to execute the second phase of the massive dam filling – to take place in July – in spite of Egyptian and Sudanese objections, which are due to the absence of a legally-binding agreement on the filling and the operating of the dam. Egypt and Sudan say they are not against development in Ethiopia and that they do not object to the filling of the dam's reservoir, but have also highlighted the need to reach a binding deal before the next rainy season. Shoukry and Abdel-Ati said the second phase of filling the GERD must be implemented in accordance with an agreement that takes into consideration the interests of the two downstream countries and limits the dam's harm on them, a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry read. The two ministers emphasised Egypt's willingness to do the work required for the success of the GERD negotiations sponsored by the African Union, which is chaired this year by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi. Egypt also seeks to cooperate with the United States and other international partners to reach the desired agreement on GERD, the ministers said. Ethiopia withdrew from the most recent session of talks in February last year. Ethiopia's ambassador to the US Fitsum Arega wrote on Twitter: "Ethiopia will not sign any agreement that gives up its rights on how to use its own Nile water." Last summer, Ethiopia commenced the first filling of the dam despite the absence of a deal with Egypt and Sudan. In September 2020, the Trump administration decided to cut $100 million in aid to Ethiopia until the country agreed to a deal on GERD. The Biden administration reversed the policy earlier this year.
