The negotiations on the under-construction Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) continued in Washington for a fourth day on Friday with the aim of reaching an agreement on rules regulating the filling and operation of the Ethiopian mega-dam, MENA reported.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Ati are taking part in the meetings, which are being mediated the US and the World Bank.

The meetings were supposed to be concluded in the middle of January, but the three sides – Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan – failed to reach an agreement.

They remained deadlocked over the way the dam will be filled during periods of drought.

They reached a preliminary consensus at talks held earlier this month in Washington.

Prior to Washington's latest round of talks, Khartoum hosted a consultative meeting of the technical and legal delegations from the three countries, in which they determined some elements and key terms regarding a final agreement on the dam's operations, as well as the measures to be followed during times of drought so as not to harm Egypt's water quotas.

Ethiopia hopes that the massive $4.8 billion project on the Blue Nile, which has been under construction since 2011, will allow it to become Africa’s largest power exporter.

Downstream Egypt is concerned the dam could affect its Nile water supply.

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