Sudan’s Cabinet praised UAE Mediation about Dam conflicts with Ethiopia

The Sudanese information minister stated on Tuesday that Sudan’s cabinet supported an initiative for the United Arab Emirates to act as a mediator in a conflict about Sudan’s border with Ethiopia, and about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

In fact, tensions about the control of farmland in al-Fashqa, on the border, have increased during the recent months. However, discussions about the operation of the GERD that would affect water volume downstream on the Nile in Sudan and Egypt are failed.

On his part, Information Minister Hamza Baloul stated that Sudan’s transitional cabinet supported the suggestion for Emirati mediation after that it had been studied by the minister.

Previously, Sudan had suggested four-party mediation about the dam that involving the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations.

The proposal had been supported by Egypt that is the other party to the blocked discussions, but not by Ethiopia that is set to add water to the reservoir behind the giant hydropower dam for a second year this summer.