KHARTOUM, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sudan said on Tuesday any discussion about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) would be under a tripartite framework, involving the development rights of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia.
Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour made the remarks during the visit of the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, saying that the discussion about the GERD project would also include the water security of the three countries.
"Any discussion about the Renaissance Dam will be related to how to overcome barriers and ensure the water security for the three countries," Ghandour said.
"The GERD is an Ethiopian development project, but it also concerns Sudan and Egypt, where all the discussions about it revolve within this tripartite framework," he added.
The dam will be regarded as Africa's largest dam, located about 20 km away from the Sudanese border on the Nile River, with a total volume of 74,000 million cubic meters upon completion.
The dam is set to produce around 6,000 megawatts of electricity and expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
The project worries Egypt, which fears that the construction of the dam would affect its share of 55.5 billion cubic meters of the Nile water, while Ethiopia said the dam would not harm any country.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is said to hold talks with Desalegn later Tuesday to discuss issues including the situation in East Africa and also in South Sudan, as well as the relations between Sudan and Ethiopia.
Last April, the two countries declared a comprehensive cooperation in fields of security, economy, social development and culture. Enditem
