#Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam talks to resume in #Khartoum

Officials to resume talks in the Sudanese capital as no agreement was reached at their last meeting held in Cairo concerning the technical study of the dam's impact

A general view shows construction activity on the Grand Renaissance dam in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz region March 16, 2014

A new round of talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are to be held in Khartoum on Wednesday aimed at resolving the latest controversies concerning the under-construction Renaissance Dam, Egypt's Irrigation Minister Hossam Moghazi said.

Experts from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia along with representatives from the two international consultancy offices set to conduct a technical study on the dam will attend the two-day round of talks, Moghazi told .

Two European consultancy firms were commissioned in April to carry out a technical study on the possible impact of Ethiopia’s dam on the downstream countries of Sudan and Egypt. The new round of talks aims at reaching an agreement between the three countries on the impact of the dam.

Earlier this month, the tripartite committee, which includes representatives of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, discussed aspects of the technical study during talks in Cairo.

The talks ended after three days with no accord.

Moghazi told that the new round of talks will be extended if necessary in order to reach an agreement.

The study will determine the environmental, social and economic impacts of the construction of the dam.

In March, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia signed a declaration of principles on the dam, agreeing to safeguard the interests of all three countries.

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who hailed the declaration as a "positive step", visited Ethiopia in the same month and addressed the country's parliament, calling for a new era of cooperation.

The dam, scheduled to be completed in 2017, will be Africa's largest hydroelectric power plant.

#Egypt and #Algeria to sign gas import agreement

Egypt will import 6 cargoes of LNG from Algeria between April and September

An undated handout photo shows a Dana Gas rig in Egypt

 Egyptian petroleum minister Sherif Ismail set off for a two-day visit to Algeria on Monday to sign a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import agreement with the oil rich North African country, according to a Reuters report.

The Egyptian government announced earlier this month that it will import six cargoes of LNG from Algeria between April and September 2015.

A member of the delegation accompanying the minister told Reuters, that Egypt wants to discuss pricing with Algeria as LNG prices are expected to go down amid plunging international oil prices.

Egypt signed, in November, an agreement with Norwegian Liquefied Natural Gas services firm, Hoegh LNG to rent a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) for five years. This allows Egypt to Import LNG, to ease its energy shortages.

Egypt has been suffering from a mounting energy crisis as domestic production of natural gas, predominantly used in power stations, was disrupted by the political turmoil of the past three years.