Ethiopia's minister of water, irrigation and energy in a 9 April 2021 tweet from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited Sudan and Egypt "to nominate focal persons/dam operators to exchange data among the three countries with regards to the second-year filling [of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam] which will take place in July and August 2021."
Reuters published on 11 April 2021 an article titled "Egypt, Sudan Reject Ethiopian Proposal for Data Sharing on Renaissance Dam." Egypt and Sudan rejected the Ethiopian proposal, arguing they want a legally binding agreement before there is any additional filling of the reservoir behind the dam.
Comment: The Ethiopian proposal would seem to be a reasonable confidence building measure as negotiations continue. What are Sudan and Egypt afraid of?
