Congo proposes new initiative to break Nile dam deadlock
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, the current chair of the African Union, has submitted a new initiative to resolve the ongoing dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
To revive the talks that have stalled for over a month now, Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and current chair of the African Union, presented a new initiative May 9 regarding the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) during a tour that included Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Tshisekedi met with officials of the three countries in an effort to resume the fitful negotiations that have been spanned a decade over the dam Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River.
The initiative is supported by the United States and the European Union and includes a short-term initial agreement on the second filling stage of the dam's reservoir. It stipulates that Ethiopia shall provide information on the filling timelines and the volume of water flows to the two downstream countries.
Ethiopia's target filling date is drawing near with only two months left, not enough time to settle all outstanding issues.
