Sudan Calls on Ethiopia to Accept Quartet Mediation
Al-Sammani Awadallah
Khartoum– Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Prof. Yasser Abbas, on Monday, called on Ethiopia to accept the Quartet Mediation in order to reach a just and legal agreement, acceptable by the three parties.
Prof. Abbas – addressing the celebration marking the World Water Day under the motto ”valuing water”– has pointed out to the importance of the Quartet Mediation in narrowing the viewpoints gap, expressing astonishment over the Ethiopian rejection to the mediation that includes the UN, EU, the US and the African Union.
“Sudan, since last week, has been calling for giving opportunity to the AU experts for bridging viewpoints. However, the country of Ethiopia rejected this proposal”, he explained.
The minister reviewed the ministry’s strategies concerning the management of water resources, adding that the maintenance operations are currently underway at Bott Dam which collapsed recently.
He explained that the ministry is keen on providing irrigation water through the rehabilitation of the irrigation canals to different projects, stressing the necessity for the increase of water fees to improve the agricultural water operation.
The celebration was also addressed by, Professor Abdel Qader Abdin, Head of Science and Technology programs at the UNESCO Office in Khartoum, who reviewed the organization’s support for the Sudanese Water Network and the Regional Center for Water Harvesting, adding that there is participation by UNESCO in water diplomacy
