South Sudan wants to be part of Ethiopian-Egyptian dam talks

JUBA – South Sudan government is expressing interest in joining the ongoing talks between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt to end the crisis that has engulfed the operation of the giant Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Egypt and Sudan are opposition the terms of operation of the dam and Ethiopia has vowed to move on with the second filling in July with or without agreement with the downstream countries.

Speaking during a virtual conference organized by the Ethiopian government on Thursday, South Sudan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs Deng Dau said the world’s youngest country would want to join the dam talks despite the fact that it is not one of the countries involved in dispute.

“South Sudan, although we are not a party to the discussions, we are an interested party on issues that are being discussed,” the senior government official said.

“Currently, some parts of the Upper Nile in South Sudan are flooded because of rainfall last year and this year. And we want to be engaged in the discussion that is going on,” he added.