Communications between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have been taking place, with high hopes of a successful of meeting bewteen the water ministers of the eastern Nile Basin countries in Khartoum on Sunday.
Sources said they are expecting a surprise that could possibly end the political crisis surrounding the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Haile-Mariam Desalegn met in Khartoum on Wednesday with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on the sidelines of a cross-border electricity link inauguration.
Addis Ababa is trying to appease the situation with Cairo to convince it join the electricity network, the sources added. Addis Ababa was keen on resuming the communication between the three countries through a second meeting in a month in Khartoum.
The urgent meeting between Egyptian Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Muttaleb and his Sudanese counterpart Osama Abdullah in Cairo on Tuesday tackled Ethiopian view on Egyptian proposals in the recent Khartoum meeting, the sources revealed. It also set conditions for formation of an expert committee which will have the studies reviewed by international consultants. The committee will start work after reaching an agreement during the Sunday meeting.
Observers expect a surprise that will end the crisis and tension between Cairo and Addis Ababa.
Egypt insists on timeline of no more than six months for the expert committee work and that its recommendations be binding to the three countries
Egypt submitted several proposals on mechanisms of funding the studies and ending conflicts that could come up during work of the tripartite committee.
Irrigation Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Waseef said in a statement on Wednesday that the Sudanese minister’s visit to Cairo paves the way for the next week’s meeting in Khartoum, which will include session for technical experts on Sunday and another one for water ministers on Monday.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
