Egypt and Ethiopia have agreed to resume negotiations over the Nahda Dam within the next two weeks, hoping to reach consensus on points of contention in an introductory report presented by a French advisory office.
The report focuses on the effects of the Ethiopian dam on the river’s streams (Egypt and Sudan).
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said he and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed, agreed “to start bilateral discussions in the next two weeks to reach consensus on unsettled points.”
Ethiopia has been building the dam on one of the main reaches of the Nile to supply its territories with electricity.
Egypt fears the dam will restrict the waters coming down from Ethiopia's highlands, through the deserts of Sudan, to its fields and reservoirs.
Ethiopia, which wants to become Africa's biggest power exporter, says it will have no such impact.
Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan have been carrying out a series of technical and political negotiations for years, but they have failed to find a decisive consensus so far.
Madbouly met on Sunday with Ahmed on the sidelines of the 11th African Union Extraordinary Summit in Addis Ababa.
He conveyed a message from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on means of developing bilateral relations to the level of integrated partnership and activating mechanisms to achieve this, according to a statement by the Egyptian Cabinet.
During his participation in the meetings on behalf of Sisi, Madbouly said he agreed with his Ethiopian counterpart on establishing a trilateral Egyptian, Sudanese and Ethiopian fund via a meeting among the governors of the central banks of the three countries to finalize the agreement.
He noted his country's readiness to exchange expertise in the field of constructing new cities and roads in Ethiopia in light of the development plan adopted by Addis Ababa.
Abiy, for his part, stressed his personal concern with preserving the rights of Egypt and all the African countries associated with the Nile River, noting that both sides agreed during their meeting to start bilateral negotiations within the next two weeks to reach an agreement.
