Seventh round of Renaissance Dam talks kicks off in Khartoum

The seventh round of the tripartite technical national committee on Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam kicked off here in the presence of water resources ministers from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia Hossam Moghazi, Moataz Moussa and Almayho Tigno respectively.

The meetings, to be held over three days, will discuss the pending issues which have not been settled during the previous round at the level of experts.

The three ministers will discuss the proposals of the two consultative offices on the dam project and reach an agreement on all thorny issues in preparation for signing contracts after approval of concerned consultants assigned with the necessary technical studies on the impact of the dam on the Upper Stream countries especially Egypt and Sudan.

The committee has been meeting for almost two years to examine the plan of construction for the Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia had started building with the intention of storing 84 billion cubic meters of water. The water stored will then generate electricity sufficient for its advanced use and for exports to neighboring countries, not excluding Egypt.

The report issued at the end of the 6th session of a joint Egyptian-Sudanese-Ethiopian technical committee in late May, revealed concerns of potential negative influence on Egypt’s share of the Nile Water "depending on the mechanism and time of water storage behind the dam," according to Egyptian government official.

A delegation of Egyptian technical experts held intensive meetings over the past two days under the chairmanship of Moghazi ahead of participating in the seventh round of talks in Khartoum.