Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan currently locked in a stalemate over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will on Sunday resume negotiations on the approach of the project.

The Egyptian press has revealed that the Sunday negotiations will be conducted by the African Union experts under the guidance of the AU presidency of South Africa. The experts will state the issues at hand leading to the different positions the three countries have taken before recommending solutions.

The Khartoum government has been cagey in embracing the GERD project and has accused Addis Ababa of by-stepping the protocols for agreement while going ahead to fill the GERD.
According to Egypt Independent, Sudanese Minister of Irrigation Yasser Abbas sent a letter to Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa who is in charge of negotiations, expressing the dissatisfaction with the project, and decrying actions of Ethiopia.

The letter expressed concerns over the safety of the move after the filling of the GERD adversely affected residents living along River Nile in the Khartoum region, and interfered with the drinking water. Abbas said ‘Sudan would not proceed with endless discussions that promise to tangible solutions’ to the problem.

Egypt, which also depends on the Nile water for domestic use has expressed concerns over the safety of the project. Egypt argues that the project could have counterproductive impacts on the users of the river waters currently consumed in the domestic sector.

Ethiopia on the other hand has vehemently defended the project as the key to unlocking economic potential of the region through generation of electricity.