KINSHASA, 5 April, 2021 (TON): On Sunday, the Foreign ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan kicked off negotiations in Kinshasa over a decade-long contested Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, officials said.

President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Félix Tshisekedi who became chairman of the African Union in February, urged the foreign ministers "to launch a new dynamic".

Tshisekedi said,  "The human dimension must be at the heart of these tripartite negotiations."

"I ask you all to make a fresh start, to open one or several windows of hope, to seize every opportunity," he said.

He welcomed the willingness of the participants "to seek African solutions for African problems together".

The people of all three countries have a right to water, food and health, he stressed.

However, Egypt and Sudan this month called on Kinshasa to steer efforts to re-launch negotiations on the contested dam. Meanwhile, the US ambassador to the DR Congo, Mike Hammer, attended the start of the talks, which were set to wrap up on Monday.