Africa

August 16, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Irrigation in Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have agreed to resume difficult negotiations on the Renaissance Dam next Tuesday.

The minister of the three riparian countries held a videoconference meeting on Sunday convened by South African Foreign Minister, the current chair of the African Union, after the postponement of the talks for a week on the request of the Sudanese government.

"At the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, we the Foreign and Irrigation Ministers of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, agreed in a meeting held on Sunday to resume negotiations next Tuesday," said Foreign Minister Omer Gamar Eldin.

Gamar Eldin added that the parties agreed to compile their positions papers in one document with the support of African Union experts and observers.

"The draft will be submitted to the AU chairman to review it and considering if it can become a basis for an agreement between the three countries," he added.

For its part, the Irrigation ministry said in a separate statement that Sudan demanded returning to the agenda set by the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, in his letter of August 4, 2020, and included in the report of African experts submitted to the African mini-summit on July 24, 2020.

The report recommended a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD and ensured "Ethiopia's right to freely develop future upstream projects as long as they are in accordance with international law".

In Cairo, the foreign ministry issued a statement saying that during the meeting Egypt stressed the need to conclude a legally binding agreement that regulates the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam.

The deal should "preserves the rights of the three countries, secures their water interests, and limits the impact of this dam and its effects on the two downstream countries".

Ethiopia sovereign rights

Speaking in a virtual meeting with the Ethiopian in the Nile River riparian countries on 15 August, foreign minister Gedu Andargachew stressed that the Renaissance Dam "corrects historical imbalances" in the use of the Nile water.

"The minister said since the Nile river basin holds 2/3 of Ethiopia's water resources, utilizing it is a matter of sovereignty and an essential requirement for the development of the country," further said a statement issued by the Ethiopian foreign ministry.

Ethiopian Diaspora contributes to financing the $4 billion hydropower dam being built on Blue Nile river.

(ST)

August 16, 2020 (JUBA) - The Sudanese government and the SPLM-N of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front led by Malik Agar reached an agreement on security arrangements in the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains states, paving the way for the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement in Juba.

Sudan Tribune learned from a source close to the talks that the agreement was completed on Sunday evening following a series of meetings between the two delegations chaired by Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim and SPLM-N Chief Negotiator Yasir Arman.

"The two parties have also agreed on a mechanism to reform the military and security establishment, according to which there will be one professional and a non-politicized army that reflects the Sudanese diversity," the source said.

Earlier on Sunday, Dhieu Matouk the Mediation Rapporteur and its official spokesperson announced that the two parties finalized an agreement on the integration of the SPLM-N combatants the forces in the security arrangements file, the path of the two regions, and the mechanisms for developing and modernizing the armed forces and security services remained.

The two sides had already discussed the security arrangements. The weekend meetings discussed the pending issues.

"This is the first agreement to be finalized between the government and an armed group under the mediation of South Sudan, which is a good diplomatic victory for Juba also," stressed the source which is not authorized to speak the press.

The security arrangements are the last issue on the negotiating table in the Juba mediated process for peace in Sudan.

Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemetti) Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council and head of the government negotiating delegation will arrive in Juba on Monday flanked by Shams al-Din Kabbashi and Mohamed Hassan Eltaishi two members of the Sovereign Council and the negotiating team.

In a related development, a delegation of the Forces for Freedom and Change will arrive in Juba Monday for talks with the Sudanese Revolutionary Front to discuss preparation of an FFC conference on ways to reform the ruling coalition and build a solid structure.

The delegation includes Omer al-Digair, of the Sudanese Congress Party, Mariam al-Mahdi of the National Umma Party.

The SRF agreed earlier to take part in this conference.

Matouk expected that Hemetti arrival to Juba, on Monday, will accelerate the negotiation process in preparation for the initial signing of the comprehensive peace agreement that "will take place soon" as he said.

Last Month the Higher Peace Council in Khartoum held a series of meeting to determine to the government position on the security arrangements.

The rapporteur of the mediation revealed that the drafting committee tasked with the preparation of the negotiating paper on the security arrangement in Darfur will hand it to the government, SRF and SLM of Minni Minnawi on Monday.

Talks on the security arrangements in Darfur also will be limited to the sticky points in this file.

(ST)

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