A new round of talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will take place after two weeks to settle the disagreements over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to news reports. There is a meeting currently being held in Khartoum between the Egyptian, Ethiopian, and Sudanese ministers of foreign affairs and irrigation. The current round of talks follows up on talks that began earlier in December, but failed to reach a common agreement. The representatives of the three countries have agreed on Monday to hold another meeting after two weeks to resolve disagreement and reach a solution. Ethiopia has also reportedly agreed to hold a technical meeting next week to discuss the Egyptian suggestion of increasing the number of gates at the Grand Renaissance Dam to ensure a rise in the amount of water passing downstream to Egypt. On Saturday, Ethiopia announced it began the diversion of the Blue Nile, which was perceived by some experts as a sign that it will complete the construction of the dam regardless of the current meetings. The main point of debate was Ethiopia's plans to store water inside the dam during the next five years, which it claims will not affect other countries. However, Egypt has been pushing for delays of this move until the technical studies on the dam's effects on downstream countries are completed.
