Concerned by Ethiopia’s unilateral decision to start filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) before an agreement, the United States has partially paused aid it has been giving to Ethiopia. The United States has been increasingly concerned by the lack of progress toward finalizing an agreement, according to a statement the United States Embassy in Addis Abeba sent to Fortune. Over the past two decades, the United States has provided over 13 billion dollars in assistance to Ethiopia, four billion of which was given in the last five years. For the current year, the United States gave Ethiopia 230 million dollars in aid for economic growth, agriculture, education and good governance. The role of the United States in all of this is to pressure Ethiopia to take a position closer to the Egyptians, according to former United States Ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shinn.

Source: Ethiopian News September 08, 2020 15:22 UTC