The Egyptian Presidency announced in a statement that Egypt agreed with Ethiopia and Sudan to give priority to formulating a binding agreement on the rules for filling and operating the Renaissance Dam that is being built by Addis Ababa on the Blue Nile.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdouk also revealed on Twitter that the three parties had reached an understanding to continue negotiating the filling and operation of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile.
On Tuesday, a mini-African summit was held on the Ethiopian "Renaissance Dam" via video technology, and a Sudanese official told Anatolia, asking not to be named, that the summit was held with the participation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdock, his Ethiopian counterpart Abi Ahmed and head of the Commission The African Union, Moussa Faki, as well as leaders of other African countries.
The summit was held under the auspices of the African Union, which is chaired by South African President Cyril Ramafuza.
Ethiopia is adhering to filling and operating the dam reservoir during the current rainy season in July, while Egypt and Sudan refuse to add Addis Ababa to this step before reaching a tripartite agreement.
Egypt fears affecting its annual share of the Nile River's water amounting to 55.5 billion cubic meters, and demands an agreement on files, including the safety of the dam and the determination of its filling bases in times of drought.
While Addis Ababa says that it does not aim to harm the interests of Egypt or Sudan, and that the aim of building the dam is to generate electricity and achieve development.
And Egypt announced, earlier on Tuesday, a comprehensive plan to rationalize water consumption, in light of the continuing differences with Ethiopia.
On Monday, the Khartoum State Water Authority in the Sudanese capital revealed a "sudden decline" in the Nile water level, and a number of drinking water stations were out of service.
Accusations are mounting for Ethiopia that it has already begun filling the dam reservoir. On Wednesday, the Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Seleshi Baqli, retracted a permit, which was broadcast on state television, stating that the dam on the Blue Nile, a tributary of the Nile, had begun to be filled.
Fill the tank
On Tuesday, Ethiopia revealed that it had completed the first stage of filling the Renaissance Dam reservoir on the Nile.
"It has become clear in the past two weeks during the rainy season that the filling of the Renaissance Dam has been achieved in its first phase," the office of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed said in a statement.
The Arab League, Egypt and Sudan urged Ethiopia to postpone its plans to fill the dam reservoir this month until a comprehensive agreement is reached.
And last week, Ethiopia recognized that the water levels behind the Grand Renaissance Dam that it was building on the Blue Nile were increasing, and officials said it was a natural part of the construction process.
The capacity of the reservoir is 74 billion cubic meters, but the goal of collecting water in the first stage is much lower.