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The Extraordinary Meeting of the Bureau of the African Union Assembly was held virtually yesterday on June26, 2020 on the ongoing negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt with regards to the first filling and annual operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a statement from the Prime Minister Office indicates.

The meeting was convened by South African President and African Union Chair, Cyril Ramaphosa, with the participation of Heads of State of Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and members of the Assembly Bureau. The leaders underscored that the Nile and the GERD are African issues that must be given African solutions.

The Heads of State of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt provide a statement on the status of the negotiations.

According to the statement, the meeting set directions on the way forward. Accordingly, the three countries have agreed to conclude the negotiation and try to reach an agreement within the next two weeks.

Ethiopia is scheduled to begin filling the GERO within the next two weeks, during which the remaining construction work will continue.

It is in this period, that the three countries have agreed to reach a final agreement on few pending matters, the statement indicated.

The meeting also resolved to notify the United Nations Security Council that the African Union is seized of the matter.

It also instructed the African Union and members of the Bureau to provide technical support for the negotiations and urged Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt to cease unnecessary media escalation, the Statement from the PMO underlined.

Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed held phone conversations with President of France Emmanuel Macron on development issues.

Prime Minister Abiy said he had productive telephone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron on development issues.

The Premier stated that he has discussed with President Emmanuel Macron on relations between the two countries and COVID 19 response activities.

“I appreciate the continued support of France for our growth endeavors”, tweeted Prime Minister Abiy.

Ethiopia and France signed a joint defense agreement, and concurred to strengthen bilateral relations and fight against extremism and maritime piracy in the region on March, 2019 during president’s visit to Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Emmanuel Macron also visited the churches of Lalibela, carved out of rock centuries ago.

The African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat affirmed the Commission’s commitment to supporting Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt to solve their differences over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) through dialogue.

The Chairperson made the remark on yesterday during a meeting he had in his office with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Gedu Andargachew.

During the discussion, Gedu briefed the Chairperson about the successive tripartite talks held over the GERD and Ethiopia’s stance during the negotiations.

The Minister stressed Ethiopia’s refusal to be abide by the terms of colonial-era treaties which Ethiopia did not partake in and that unfairly bypassed the country’s legitimate right to utilize the Nile waters.

He told the Union’s Chairperson that preparations are underway to commence the first phase of filling the reservoir according to the schedule.

Gedu further urged the Commission to note and appreciate Ethiopia’s legal and natural right to equitably utilize its natural resources and accelerate its development.

Moussa Faki Mahamat on his part expressed his belief that unresolved issues of the GERD should be solved in line with the spirit of the catchall phrase ‘African Solutions to African Problems’.

The Chairperson further said the Union will work to facilitate dialogue for the three countries to help them solve the GERD issues through dialogue.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP) have launched a three-year partnership in Ethiopia to support the Government in preventing acute malnutrition in children and mothers and provide school-based nutrition and health services.

Three-year initiative will be implemented in 100 woredas and promoting health and nutrition in 600 schools.

The first-of-its-kind partnership underlines the urgency of preventing acute malnutrition in Ethiopia, which has seen insufficient progress over the past two decades, and where malnutrition levels are likely to be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

And, it is aimed to address the ongoing desert locust infestation, and persistent climate-related crises such as floods and droughts.

This year, 4.4 million people in the country will require treatment for severe and acute malnutrition – 2.7 million children and 1.7 million pregnant and breastfeeding women.

This approach would help Ethiopia move towards the goal of decreasing acute malnutrition in children from nearly 10 percent to less than three percent by 2030.

The UNICEF-WFP initiative targets 100 of the most vulnerable woredas in Afar, Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples, Somali and Tigray regions. The two agencies aim to:

“We are concerned that millions of children remain susceptible to malnutrition, and we are already seeing worrying signs of increased malnutrition due to COVID-19 and the desert locust infestation,” said UNICEF Representative Adele Khodr.

“We are, however, convinced that in working together smartly and differently, we can support the Government of Ethiopia to drastically prevent the root causes of malnutrition and reach every child and mother who requires treatment for malnutrition.” She added.

“The Government is investing heavily in the nutrition, health and education of current and future generations of Ethiopians,” said Steven Were Omamo, WFP Representative and Country Director.

“We are confident that this new partnership will add importantly to those efforts and thereby contribute to the Government’s vision of social and economic transformation in Ethiopia.” he added.

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has called for a peaceful negotiation over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project.

The Caucus encouraged the continued cooperation and peaceful negotiations of all stakeholders in the project based on mutual benefit, good faith, and the principles of international law.

In a statement issued yesterday, CBC said “in recent months negotiations have stalled and there has been an escalation of tensions on GERD that impacts, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan.”

The multi-billion-dollar GERD project, which was announced in 2011, will have a positive impact in the region by providing Africa’s biggest hydropower dam that will generate approximately 6,000MW of electricity, thus allowing Ethiopia to export power to neighboring countries, it said.

The Caucus also urged the United States and all other international actors to respect the 2015 Declaration of Principles trilateral agreement signed between the three countries, and to continue to play an impartial role, only seeking the counsel of the African Union (AU) and diplomats on the ground in the region.

In particular, the AU has a pivotal role to play by expressing to all parties that a peaceful negotiated deal benefits all and not just some on the continent, it added

The Caucus finally said it “supports a peaceful negotiation to the implementation of the GERD project, and stands ready to support the African Union and all stakeholders on peacefully achieving a mutually beneficial agreement.”