Joint Statement of Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, the United States, and the World Bank (December 9, 2019)

WASHINGTON – The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan appreciate the observer role of the United States and the World Bank. They noted the progress achieved in the technical meetings among the Ministers of Water Resources in Addis Ababa and in Cairo.

The Ministers agreed that the strategic direction of the next two technical meetings should be the development of technical rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the definition of drought conditions, and drought mitigation measures to be taken.

The Ministers recognize that there are substantial benefits to all three countries in developing rules and guidelines to address drought conditions. The rules and guidelines will include drought mitigation measures based upon the natural flow in the given year and water release rates from the GERD.

The implementation of these technical rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the GERD will be undertaken by Ethiopia, and may be adjusted by the three countries, in accordance with the hydrological conditions in the given year.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs look forward to reconvening in Washington, D.C. on January 13, 2020 to review the results of the upcoming technical meetings in Khartoum and Addis Ababa with the goal of finalizing an agreement