Closed consultative session held on sidelines of 6-way meeting on Ethiopia's dam

The foreign and irrigation ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia held a closed consultative session Friday in Khartoum, on the sidelines of their meeting on the Renaissance Dam.

Well-placed sources said the session focused on the action program of the six-party meeting, the timeline for each issue and draft resolutions to be submitted by each state.

The sources added that the three parties are keen to come out with positive results from the meeting.

A proposal was presented to limit the meeting to only one day in which the parties focus on the most important points of contention in order to reach specific results, the sources said.

The parties also consider the possibility of holding a complementary six-party meeting as soon as possible, the sources added.

Meanwhile, sources denied reports on replacing the six-party meeting as a new mechanism instead of the National Tripartite Committee.

The sources added that the six-party meeting would convene whenever the need arises, because the dam is both a political and technical file.

Earlier in the day, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that the meeting is being held in the right time to push forward negotiations and resolve outstanding differences between the three countries.

He added that the agreement of principles, signed by the leaders of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in Khartoum in March, forms the basis for a cooperative relationship between the three countries on the Renaissance Dam file.

Sources: MENA