Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have agreed that Ethiopia will not start filling its new hydroelectric Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in July and will instead return to tripartite talks aimed at reaching a final binding agreement. The announcement on Friday evening that Ethiopia will not proceed to fill the $US 4.8 billion GERD, despite its earlier statements this month that filling will commence despite the existence of any agreement, came after the three countries participated in an emergency African Union summit. The summit, which was held virtually, saw the leaders of the three countries – President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdouk and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed – agree to restart stalled negotiations and form a committee of experts to finalise a binding agreement over the controversial dam within the next few weeks. The committee will be provided with support from the leaders of Kenya, Mali the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa. International observers – the United States of America and the European Union – will also provide support. During the emergency summit, Egyptian President Al-Sisi emphasised Egypt’s willingness to reach a just and balanced agreement that…
