UNSC supports discussion resumption on Blue Nile dam between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan

On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) urged Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume talks over the controversial issue of water supply from an Ethiopian dam being built on the Nile's main tributary. According to a brief presidential statement authorised by all 15 council members, negotiations on the African Union's chairperson's request to finalise the language of a mutually acceptable and binding agreement on the filling and functioning of the dam within a fair time frame should restart.

It said, "the Security Council calls upon the three countries to take forward the AU-led negotiation process in a constructive and cooperative manner." According to Ethiopian state media, the dam on the Blue Nile is 80 per cent complete and will achieve full generating capacity in 2023, making it the world's seventh-largest hydroelectric power plant.

Ten years of negotiations with Ethiopia have failed

Ten years of negotiations with Ethiopia have failed, according to Egypt and Sudan, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is beginning the second filling of its reservoir. They claim that this not only contravenes a 2015 deal but also poses an existential threat to 150 million people in downstream countries. Egypt's Foreign Ministry urged Ethiopia to take the talks "seriously" in order to reach a legally binding agreement on the dam's construction and operation.

Sudan's foreign minister, Mariam al-Mahdi also asked for a quick resumption of the discussions in order to establish an agreement acceptable to all three sides. Ethiopia's foreign ministry said it welcomes the council's decision to refer the matter to AU-led talks, but expressed disappointment that the council pronounces itself over a water right and development issue that is outside of its jurisdiction.

Egypt and Sudan asked the UNSC in July for a legally binding resolution requiring the three countries to negotiate a legally binding agreement within six months under AU auspices that ensures Ethiopia's ability to generate hydropower while preventing significant harm to downstream states' water security.

The council urged the three nations to jointly continue supporting the negotiations

The council's brief statement urged observers who had been invited to the negotiations, as well as any other observers the three nations agreed to jointly invite to continue supporting the negotiations with a view to assisting resolution of unresolved technical and legal issues. The council went on to say that its statement does not establish any principles or precedent in any future transboundary water issues.

(Inputs from AP News)

Image: AP