The GERD and the Revival of the Egyptian–Sudanese Dispute over the Nile Waters

Abstract

The Tripartite National Committee (TNC), established by Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), abruptly ended its seventeenth meeting in Cairo on November 12, 2017. The meeting was intended to discuss the inception report prepared by two French firms, BRLi and Artelia, on two studies on the GERD. These studies have been under discussion and planning since 2013, and hitherto major differences over them arose among the three countries. The TNC meeting failed to agree on the inception report, with Sudan and Ethiopia on one side and Egypt on the other. Neither a joint statement, nor an agreement on a date for the next TNC meeting, was issued. More importantly, the meeting revealed the growing rift between Egypt and Sudan on the GERD and the studies, revived their century-old dispute on the entire Nile water relations, and confirmed the widening crack in their long-time alliance against the other Nile riparian countries. This article aims to explore the historical and current (The developments considered in this article are up-to-date as of 23 January, 2018.) legal contradictory claims by Egypt and Sudan over the Nile waters in light of the GERD negotiations and the two studies and offers some thoughts for the future relations of the Nile Basin countries.