The Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation, Water and Energy, Seleshi Begley, affirmed on Thursday that his country has no intention of harming any of the downstream countries by building the Renaissance Dam, according to the Ethiopian News Agency.
The agency said that Bagli delivered a message from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed to South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, during a visit to Juba, and discussed with him the issue of the Renaissance Dam and the border situation between Sudan and Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian minister’s statements come amid repeated assurances from Addis Ababa that it is proceeding with its plan to fill the lake of the Renaissance Dam during the rainy period between July and August, despite the objection of Egypt and Sudan, which demand a binding agreement specifying the rules for filling and operating the dam, which is located on the Nile Blue near the border with Sudan.
Cairo
resume dialogue
For its part, the US State Department said Thursday that Washington encourages Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to resume dialogue on the Renaissance Dam under the auspices of the African Union.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed said earlier that his country plans to build dozens of dams, which sparked criticism from Egypt, which said that his statements indicated Ethiopia’s bad faith.
In turn, Sudan said that the negotiations that have been going on for years under the auspices of the African Union have only resulted in deepening the gap between the participating parties.
Two days ago, high-quality satellite images obtained by the news monitoring and verification agency on the island, Sanad, showed recent construction operations in the Renaissance Dam, in preparation for the second filling, despite the continuous escalation of the crisis between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan