Sudan's water resources and power minister, Moussa Omar Abul-Kassem, confirmed in a statement on Monday that Sudan host tripartite talks with Ethiopia and Egypt concerning Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam on 25 and 26 August, reported state news agency MENA.

 

Egypt's foreign ministry had previously announced that the meeting would take place on 26 August.

 

The meeting is considered a sign of progress after a series of talks last year reached a stalemate.

 

The talks revolve around the Grand Renaissance Dam, a $4.2 billion hydro-electric dam currently under construction on the Blue Nile, one of the main tributaries of the Nile.

 

The project has been a source of concern for the Egyptian government since May 2013, when images of the dam's construction stirred public anxiety about the possible effect on Egypt's potable water supply.

 

Ethiopia maintains that Egypt's water share will not be negatively affected by the successful completion of the project. Egyptian officials have repeatedly stressed concerns about the dam's affect on the country's water supply.

 

The talks were initially scheduled to take place in Cairo but were since moved to Khartoum.

 

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry previously said that a June meeting between President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and his Ethiopian counterpart in Malabo had contributed to opening new channels in the relationship between the two states.