Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received, on Wednesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and they discussed the Sudanese crisis, the Renaissance Dam and strengthening relations, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency.
A spokesman for the Egyptian presidency said statement The two sides discussed ways to settle the crisis in Sudan by peaceful means, in cooperation with neighboring countries.
He added that the meeting also dealt with the issue of the Renaissance Dam, without mentioning details or whether the two sides reached an agreement.
On Thursday, the Ethiopian Prime Minister said that the government takes into account the concerns of neighboring countries, Egypt and Sudan, and that his country is “working carefully to ensure the availability of sufficient water for their needs while at the same time protecting its interests during the fourth filling” of the dam.
“Accordingly, this year’s filling will be different from the previous three rounds by carrying out the filling in a way that alleviates the concerns of the neighboring residents,” he added.
It is noteworthy that Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly asked Ethiopia to stop filling the reservoir of the Renaissance Dam, pending a tripartite agreement regarding the methods of operating the dam, as it is the largest in Africa.
At the end of the third phase of filling the dam, which was completed in August 2022, the reservoir contained 22 billion cubic meters of water out of 74 billion of its full capacity.
Two turbines are currently operating in the dam with a total capacity of 750 megawatts, out of the 13 planned which are supposed to eventually produce more than five thousand megawatts, making it possible to double the current electricity production in Ethiopia.
It is noteworthy that the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister announced, at the end of last June, that Ethiopia is preparing to launch the fourth phase of filling the Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, despite the opposition of Egypt, which is concerned about its water supplies.
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2023-07-12 22:09:27
