Sudanese minister of irrigation and water resources Moataz Moussa arrived in Egypt on Tuesday for a two-day visit to participate in the Arab Water Council Session and for talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), reported state-run agency MENA. Moussa is Sudan's envoy to head the Arab Water Council Session, which is part of the Arab League. The session included envoys from Arab countries and involves non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The session is set to discuss several issues, including follow-ups on the Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt Vision 2030 regarding water resources. The council will also discuss reports that Israel is stealing water from south Lebanon and other Arab regions. Moussa will also meet with his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Abdel Aaty, to discuss GERD and the regulation of Nile water following the completion of its construction. On 20 September, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia signed in Sudan's capital of Khartoum the final contracts for the consultation offices that are conducting technical studies pertaining to the implications of GERD on countries downriver. Ethiopia previously announced that as much as it respects the results that will be delivered by the consultation offices, it is not obligated to abide by the results of these studies. Also, the results of these studies will be used in the operation process, not the construction. Earlier in May, the Ethiopian minister of information and communications said that about 70% of GERD's construction has already been completed. Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia signed a principle of declaration in March 2015, whereby they agreed on the construction of GERD but with technical studies to be conducted to ensure that the water quota of Egypt and Sudan will not be affected.
