Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi promised on Sunday to seek a solution to a long-running dispute over the Blue River Nile mega dam in Ethiopia, during his term as president of the African Union.
Tshisekedi began his one-year term as AU president, replacing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, at a virtual summit of African heads of state and government over the weekend.
In comments that concluded the two-day summit, Tshisekedi said there was “a willingness to implement innovative solutions that lead to the peaceful settlement of differences between countries, mainly to provide solutions to the problems that currently divide Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia because of of the construction of the Renaissance Dam on the Nile River. “
The dam has been a source of tension in the Horn of Africa since Ethiopia began construction a decade ago, spurring several rounds of inconclusive talks.
Ethiopia says the hydroelectric power produced by the dam will be vital to meet the energy needs of its 110 million inhabitants.
Egypt, which depends on the Nile for about 97% of its irrigation and drinking water, sees the dam as an existential threat.
Sudan expects the project to regulate annual flooding, but fears that its own dams, including Roseires and Merowe, will be damaged if no agreement is reached on its operations.
Last year, Ethiopia announced that it had reached its target for the first year of filling the dam’s reservoir. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has also recently signaled that it will continue to flood during the next rainy season, regardless of whether a deal is struck.
On Saturday, Sudan’s water minister, Yasser Abbas, warned Ethiopia against continuing the second phase of filling, saying in an interview with AFP that this would pose a “direct threat to Sudanese national security”.
Tshisekedi did not specify how the AU could become involved in the issue of dams under his leadership, but the AU has been involved in several rounds of negotiations in the past, including one held last month that has failed to move forward.
On Friday, Ethiopian Water Minister Seleshi Bekele accused Sudan and Egypt of collaborating to block progress in the negotiations.
“We hope that (Tshisekedi), as a member of the AU, will play his part in the Renaissance Dam negotiations in an appropriate manner, without undermining anyone’s rights,” he told reporters in Addis Ababa.
The Nile, the longest river in the world, is a lifeline that provides water and electricity to the 10 countries it crosses.
Its main tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, converge in Khartoum before flowing north through Egypt to flow into the Mediterranean Sea.
rcb / dl