The Government of Ethiopia announced that it will continue the construction of Great Ethiopian Reconnaissance Dam (GERD) and starts filling water into the dam next July as previously scheduled.
Ethiopia will start filling the GERD in the coming rainy season in July and expects to fill 4.9 billion cubic liters of water, according to the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy of Ethiopia, Seleshi Bekele, who briefed journalists at the Office of the Prime Minister afternoon along other government officials.
The statement has followed after the united States Government recently told Ethiopian Government not start filling water the Dam before signing a deal with the down stream countries – Egypt and Sudan. The three countries have been negotiating for the past several months in Washington D.C. in the presence of representatives of the United Sates and the World Bank.
Reports show that the United Sates Government and the World Bank who primarily were observers of the negotiation have now been engaged in pressuring Ethiopia the deal that reportedly favors Egypt.
Ethiopia needs more time and consultation with it people before signing any deal related to GERD, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Gedu Andargachew, who also briefed reporters on the issue this afternoon along other government officials.
Appreciating the role of the United Sates and the World Bank in narrowing the differences between Ethiopia and Egypt in relation to GERD, Mr. Gedu indicated stressed that the role of the United Sates should not go beyond facilitating the negotiations.
Last Friday Ethiopia was expected to sign the final deal already signed by Egypt in Washington. Meanwhile, Ethiopian delegation refused to take part in this supposed to be final negotiation indicating that the country needs to consult with domestic stakeholders before inking any deal.
It is recalled that last Thursday Ethiopians diaspora in Washington D.C. have held a demonstration opposing the pressure of President Trump’s administration on Ethiopia to sign the deal that they labeled as, “neocolonization”.