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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.”

A loan agreement amounting €117.3 million has been signed between Ethiopia and the Danske Bank A/S for the 100MW Assela wind farm project.

The agreement was sign by Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance and Mr. Jelsper B. Petterson and Olaf S. Mark schet, Director and Associate Director of Danske Bank A/S, respectively.

The total contracting amount of the project is €146 million, of which €117 million loan will be covered by the Danske Bank A/S, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

The Danida Business Fund (DBF), administered by the Investment Fund for Development Countries on behalf of the Government of Denmark, committed to contribute €28.70 million cash grant for the project.

In addition, DBF will subsidies the interest rate, Bank Margin, and EKF premium expenses of amounting €66 million euro. The DBF total support in terms of the grant, including the cash grant, is €94.7 million.

The financial support for the project is part of the Danish development assistance to Ethiopia, the statement added.

Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew said that Ethiopia will never accept any agreement that restricts her water rights to River Abay in guise of negotiations.

In an interview with ENA, Gedu said Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have not yet reached an agreement concerning legal issues despite nearing understanding on technical issues.

Ethiopia is now discussing with the two riparian countries only the construction process of the Grand Renaissance Dam not issues related to her rights to utilize the River Abay for development issues, Foreign Minister Gedu noted.

Egypt has been trying to restrict Ethiopia’s water rights to utilize River Abay in guise of negotiations during the trilateral talks, according to Gedu.

Saying that GERD is a single issue out of the concepts related to reasonable use of Abay or Nile River, Gedu added that utilization of Nile waters should be treated with perspectives of the cooperative framework agreement which has been agreed up on by  riparian countries so far.

Egypt broke up the trilateral negotiation which was being held adhering to International Water Laws and principles of fair and reasonable use of Nile Waters, Gedu added.

Six countries including Ethiopia have signed Cooperative Framework Agreement out of which four have ratified it in their parliaments and incorporated as national law, Gedu explained.

Gedu stressed Ethiopia is privileged by the agreement to utilize the River Abay for development purposes based on fair and equitable manner.

Responding inquiries regarding statements issued by the US and other international organizations on GERD, Gedu said “It would be better if they refrain from making such announcements.”

“No internal or external force can stop Ethiopia from filling the dam”, Gedu retreated.