Egypt wants to expedite GERD talks, says Shoukry

Sudan and Ethiopia have yet to respond to Egypt’s request to hold another round of GERD negotiations on 15 May, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told the press yesterday, Reuters reports. Shoukry stressed the need to “accelerate the pace of negotiations” over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which have remained frozen since officials failed to work around their issues at a meeting in Khartoum earlier this month. The three countries agreed in January to continue looking for a solution to the gridlock they reached last year after disagreeing over the results of environmental impact studies proving the dam would severely cut into Egypt’s water supply.