23 July 2020; MEMO: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday hailed the mini Africa summit held to discuss the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD).
In a tweet, the official wrote: “I Fruitful meeting on the #GERD facilitated by @CyrilRamaphosa in the endeavors to strengthen African Solutions to African Problems. I appreciate my brothers @SudanPMHamdok & @AlsisiOfficial for common understanding reached on continuing technical discussions on filling,” in reference to the president of South African, who chaired the meeting, and the leaders of Sudan and Egypt.
Ahmed has said Ethiopia has been able to complete the first stage of filling the dam’s reservoir as a result of the rainy season.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chaired the summit, confirmed that further negotiations will take place, without adding further details.
Last week an Ethiopian official said authorities had started filling the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), however this was denied days later.
The GERD’s construction is expected to finish by 2023 and the hydroelectric dam will produce 6,475 megawatts for Ethiopia’s domestic and industrial use, as well as for export to neighbouring countries.
Egypt has said the dam will affect its annual share of the Nile’s water, amounting to 55.5 billion cubic metres.
