Sudan Affirms Rejection to Unilateral Filling of Renaissance Dam

Khartoum, June 17 (SUNA) - The Sudan affirmed that it would not accept the unilateral filling of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam until after the signing of an agreement.
The Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Prof. Yasser Abbas, pointed out in the press conference held today’s evening at (SUNA) forum, that the Sudan’s letter to the UN’S Security Council, that the Rusairiss Dam is about 100 kilometers from the Renaissance Dam, and its lake extends to the Sudanese-Ethiopian border with 15 kilometer from the Renaissance Dam. He indicated that storage capacity of the Renaissance Dam is 74 billion cubic meters, which equals 10 times the storage capacity of the Ruseiriss Dam, adding: "Unless there is coordination, there is a risk in operating the Ruseiriss Dam." The Minister asserted the Sudan’s approval of the construction of the Renaissance Dam as a principle in international law for fair and reasonable use without causing significant impact, noting that the Sudan has continued to negotiate, till now, according to this same principle. Professor Yasser noted to the Sudanese technical teams, in all stages of negotiations on GERD were and are still taking priority of the interest of Sudan and its future generations, reiterating the government's commitment to take into account the interest of Sudan in all stages of the negotiations on the Renaissance Dam that do not contradict with the interests of Egypt and Ethiopia. ta