Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi confirmed his country's commitment to strive for the success of the ongoing US-sponsored negotiations on the Washington track on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. This comes days after Washington announced that resolving the dispute between the two countries could take months.
Al-Sisi added during his talks in Cairo on Saturday with former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hila Myriam Dessalines - who is the special envoy of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed - that with the signing of the agreement on the rules for filling and operating the Renaissance Dam, this would preserve the balance between the interests of all parties.
According to a statement by the official spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency, Bassam Rady, the Egyptian president said that the forthcoming agreement will open broad prospects for cooperation, coordination and development between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Several points remain outstanding between Cairo and Addis Ababa, especially the duration of filling the reservoir of the dam, which Egypt fears will reduce the flow of Nile water to it.
Tensions between the two countries in the Nile Basin have worsened since Ethiopia began construction of the huge Renaissance Dam in 2011.
The US Treasury intervened last year to facilitate talks between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, after Sisi asked President Donald Trump for help in mediating the dispute.
The last round of talks concluded in Washington last week, as officials announced that they wanted to reach an agreement by the end of February.
But during a press conference on Tuesday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "We have a lot of work to do, but I am optimistic that in the coming months we can reach a solution."
Ethiopia says the dam - which will be the largest hydroelectric facility in Africa - is vital to its growing economy, but Egypt fears the project will reduce its water share.