Egypt weighs UAE mediation initiative in Nile dam crisis
Sudan approved an initiative by the United Arab Emirates to break the deadlock in the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, but Egypt has not yet followed suit.
CAIRO — A Sudanese delegation headed to Abu Dhabi on Feb. 26 for talks on the border dispute with Ethiopia, as part of a mediation initiative announced by the United Arab Emirates.
Sudan’s Cabinet announced on March 23 its approval of the UAE initiative to mediate between it and Ethiopia to resolve their border disputes and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
This comes on the heels of a visit of a high-level Emirati delegation to Khartoum on Jan. 13. The delegation met with officials in the ministries of foreign affairs and irrigation and water resources, and received a detailed brief of Sudan's positions. The UAE then proposed an initiative to bring views together and resolve the dispute between the three countries.
The Emirati initiative, the details of which have yet to be revealed, comes amid the stalemate and repeated failure of the GERD negotiations. It also comes in light of heightened border tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia over the al-Fashqa border region, which culminated in military confrontations early this year.
