Sudan’s Burhan: We look at GERD with optimism, hope to reach an agreement 'soon'

Ahram Online , Thursday 31 Mar 2022

Chairman of Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan said on Wednesday in Cairo that Sudan looks optimistically at the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

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A handout picture released by the Egyptian Presidency shows Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) receiving the President of the Sudanese Sovereign Council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at the al-Ittihadiya presidential palace in the capital Cairo on March 30, 2022. AFP

In press conference in Cairo, the military leader said that Sudan hoped an agreement on the dam is reached soon.

Al-Burhan arrived in a visit to Cairo on Wednesday, where he held talks with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Both El-Sisi and Al-Burhan issued a joint statement that they would continue consultation and coordination regarding the GERD developments, and that both nations consider water a matter of national security.

The two countries reiterated their wish to reach a fair and legally binding agreement with Ethiopia on the filling and operation policies of the GERD that achieves the common interests of all parties.

In February, Ethiopia announced that it began generating power from the GERD, which Egypt condemned and described as another unilateral move by Addis Ababa. Both Cairo and Khartoum have been negotiating with Ethiopia for 10 years to reach a legally binding agreement on the rules for filling and operating the GERD, but Addis Ababa has repeatedly refused to sign any such deal.

Regarding the situation in Sudan, the chairman of Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council said that the handover of power must be linked to consensus between the political forces, adding there is dialogue between the military component and the political forces in Sudan

Al-Burhan added that there have been efforts to review the steps of the democratic transition, but some forces did not respond and thought the Sudanese army wanted to seize power, contrary to the truth.

He added that the country was preparing for the elections.

During the press conference, Al-Burhan praised the long historical relations between Egypt and Sudan.

“There are four million Sudanese people living in Egypt, with more than 4,000 educational grants and ten thousands of Sudanese people coming to Egypt annually for medical treatment,” he said.

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