EU's Borrell Calls On African Countries To Avoid Escalation In Dispute Over Nile Dam

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a phone conversation with the African Union's commissioner on peace and security, Smail Chergui, on Thursday that it was vital to avoid further escalation in the dispute between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt over the construction and filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and urged the sides to find a swift solution

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2020) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a phone conversation with the African Union's commissioner on peace and security, Smail Chergui, on Thursday that it was vital to avoid further escalation in the dispute between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt over the construction and filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and urged the sides to find a swift solution.

"It is now important to avoid further escalation and find an urgent and mutually beneficial solution," Borrel was quoted as saying in the press release.

The foreign policy chief also reiterated the European Union's readiness to support the parties to the dispute and share European experience with them.

"Resolving the Nile dispute is a matter of stability for the whole region," the statement read.

Since 2011, Ethiopia has been building what would become Africa's largest hydroelectric power plant when completed. Many believe that when the GERD is launched, it will inevitably lead to water shortages in downstream-located Sudan and Egypt, something that Ethiopia has consistently denied.

The three Nile basin states have held over a dozen talks since the start of the construction, but disagreements persist.