Ethiopian PM resignation postpones Khartoum dam meeting

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - The sudden resignation of Ethiopia’s prime minister has postponed restarted meetings between Sudanese, Ethiopian, and Egyptian officials over the country's Renaissance Dam, Sudan said on Saturday.

The meeting, originally set for next week, was to be the first on the controversial Blue Nile dam project since talks broke down last November.

Presidents of the three countries agreed on the sidelines of last month’s African Union summit in Addis Ababa to meet in Khartoum on Feb. 24.

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a press release that the meeting was supposed to include the countries' irrigation, electricity and foreign ministers in addition to their intelligence directors.

“Responding to a request from Ethiopia, we decided to postpone the tripartite meeting between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan scheduled for 24 February in order to reactivate the talks over the dam,” the statement said in part.

Talks between the three countries stalled over a technical report presented by international consultancy firms.