Vista general del río Nilo y de El Cairo. EFE/Fototeca

Cairo / Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have failed to reach an agreement in Khartoum on the “Al Nahda” dam built by Ethiopia in the Blue Nile and that has triggered a crisis among the three countries, said Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Gandur.

“We have met and discussed many issues, but finally we could not reach a joint decision,” the minister said at a press conference this morning.

Gandur tried to play down the lack of agreement, saying that “this is what happens with controversial issues, they need patience and will”.

Despite the failure of the meeting, which involved the ministers of foreign and water resources of the three countries, Gandur did not hesitate to describe the tripartite conversation as “constructive, detailed and important.”

He added they have not agreed on a date for the next round of negotiations, which will be determined in the future.

Last January, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan agreed to the creation of a tripartite committee within a month to discuss issues related to the large dam and promised to meet annually.

The works of the so-called Great Dam of the Ethiopian Renaissance, which is being built near the Sudanese border, are completed by more than 70%, despite the controversy that the infrastructure has aroused in recent years among the three countries, since it’s feared the flow of the Nile will decrease.

Ethiopia began construction in 2011 and, when completed, will have a total capacity of about 6,000 megawatts, which will allow the country to export electricity.

The estimated cost of the construction is almost 5,000 million dollars (about 4,050 million euros). (April 6, 2018, EFE/Practica Español)

News related in video (January 2010):