South Sudan’s deputy foreign minister has said his government would like to be engaged in discussions surrounding the construction of the giant dam in Ethiopia.
Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan are currently engaged in the talks over the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.
“South Sudan, although we are not a party to the discussions, we are an interested party on issues that are being discussed,” Deng Dau Deng told a virtual conference organized by the Ethiopian government Thursday.
“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.”
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has been a source of tension in the Nile River basin ever since Ethiopia broke ground on it in 2011.
Downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan view the dam as a threat because of their dependence on Nile waters, while Ethiopia considers it essential for its electrification and development.
Ethiopia argues that the dam would regulate water for irrigation and increase water flows to Egypt.
Last month, Ethiopia said it would start the second filling of the dam in the next rainy season in June.