Egypt said on Saturday that talks with Sudan and Ethiopia over the operation of a $4bn hydropower dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile have reached a deadlock, and it called for international mediation.

Egypt would be harmed if we could not reach an agreement soon regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, said during a joint press conference on Sunday with his Kenyan counterpart Monica Goma.

Cairo voiced its unease concerning the prolonged negotiations with Addis Ababa on the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), said Hamdi Louza, Deputy Minister for the African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Thursday.

Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty said on Saturday that Egypt has handed over its vision regarding the filling of the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and its operation during flood and drought times, to Ethiopia and Sudan. 

Egypt submitted a “fair technical” solution for the disagreement between Cairo and Addis Ababa about the under-construction Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to a statement by the Egyptian Cabinet on Wednesday.

Though water-scarce Egypt is on the verge of flood season, Cairo has declared a state of emergency due to a decline in water flow from last year. Yet water experts say the country is in good enough shape because of its reserves and water conservation measures.

“The water situation in Egypt is critical,” said Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Ati. “We have reached a point where the available water quantities set the limits for economic development. We have become one of the driest countries in the world.”

For decades, Egypt focused primarily on its foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa, and in the process neglected its Horn of Africa policy. Meanwhile, Ethiopia began construction on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River. Problems along the Nile continue for Egypt as droughts, …

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Saturday that Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) might not be completed, the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported.

Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Mohamed Abdel Aty announced in a July 24 press release that an agreement had been reached with the European Union (EU) to finance an irrigation-development project and improve the country’s water-management system. The Egyptian government has been seeking to expand cooperation with international partners to address the threats …