Tunisia plans to propose again to the Security Council a new draft text calling on Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia to resume talks to reach a binding agreement on the filling and operation of a huge hydropower dam on the Blue Nile.
On 7 July, the UN 15-member body held a meeting to discuss the stalled talks on Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) but declined to adopt a draft resolution circulated by Tunisia which was a non-permanent of the Security Council.
On Tuesday, Ethiopian State Minister for Foreign Affairs Redwan Hussein told ambassadors of the Nile river riparian countries in Addis Ababa that Tunisia is working to submit again its draft resolution on the GERD.
“The meeting noted that Tunisia’s ongoing preparation to submit its inappropriate request again to the Security Council would put all riparian countries in a difficult position that necessitates cooperation to reverse it,” said a statement released by the Ethiopian foreign ministry.
Tunisian draft resolution called for the resumption of the African Union brokered talks to finalize, within a period of six months, a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD.
The draft resolution further stressed the would-be reached deal should ensure that the GERD would not inflict “significant harm on the water security of downstream states”.
The Ethiopian statement further described the draft resolution as “an unhelpful move” that would undermine the tripartite talks before adding that Ethiopia “should never accept it”.
Diplomats in Khartoum confirmed the second draft resolution but declined to provide further details about it.
Sudan says wanting a binding agreement on the exchange of water data to protect its facilities on the Blue Nile, while Egypt expressed fears that the giant dam would reduce the amount of water reaching the Nile River.
Last July, Addis Ababa said that Kenya, which is a non-permanent member of the Security Council, opposed the Tunisian draft resolution in support of Ethiopia.
Source: Sudan Tribune