Sudan, Ethiopia refuse to ratify GERD impact studies

Sudan and Ethiopia have reportedly refused to ratify the environmental impact studies on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Egyptian Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aati said yesterday, Al Shorouk reports. Egypt was the only country out of the three to approve the studies, according to Abdel Aati, while Ethiopia and Sudan reportedly requested to amend “critical areas” of the report. Abdel Aati said Ethiopia and Sudan’s position is cause for concern over the future of the tripartite cooperation and agreement over the dam. The three countries’ ministers had gathered in Cairo yesterday and on Saturday to discuss the studies, which French consultancy firms had conducted to assess the impact of the dam on downstream nations, particularly Egypt.