Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) meets the head Of Sudan’s military council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman.
Sudan’s military leader says “Sudan and Ethiopia agreed on all matters regarding” the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) state-run news agency Suna has reported.
Speaking when he met visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Khartoum on Thursday, Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stressed the need to strengthen bilateral relations between Sudan and Ethiopia.
Burhan emphasized… that Sudan and Ethiopia are aligned and in agreement on all issues regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD),” according to a statement by the sovereign council, which he chairs.
The dam has been the source of tensions between Ethiopia and downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, ever since work began in 2011.
President Abiy said that the Nile dam would “not harm Sudan’s interests but rather will benefit Khartoum in the electricity sector”. On 11 January, Sudanese and Egyptian foreign ministers agreed to “continue consultations” regarding the Ethiopian dam.
Addis Ababa, Khartoum, and Egypt have been embroiled in a long dispute over the dam, which Sudan and Cairo fear would reduce their shares of water from the River Nile.
Egypt is relying on the Nile for irrigation and drinking water and the Blue Nile accounts for more than 80 percent of its flow.