Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Thursday that reaching a binding agreement on the filling and operating of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a necessity for paving the way for future cooperation on the Nile, official Sudanese news agency SUNA reported.

Hamdok also reiterated his call for all parties to abstain from any unilateral actions that would have any negative impact on the talks led by the African Union.

The Sudanese premier had said at a press conference on Tuesday that there are no other alternatives on the dam issue other than resuming negotiations. He said that Khartoum's position has always been negotiating in good faith and with a strong political will to reach a comprehensive deal over the filing and operating of the dam that would be acceptable for all parties.

At a summit on Tuesday organised by the African Union, the leaders of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed to resume technical talks on the GERD.

Ethiopia surprised the parties by announcing that the process of beginning filling the dam’s reservoir set for this year has been completed successfully.

Egypt has also agreed with Ethiopia and Sudan to prioritise reaching a binding deal on the filling and operating of the GERD, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency on Tuesday.

The Sudanese prime minister also issued a decree on Thursday forming a high committee to follow the developments concerning the GERD.

The new committee is chaired by the minister of the cabinet affairs and includes the justice minister, the irrigation minister, the foreign minister, the director of the general intelligence agency and the director of the military intelligence agency.

The committee will follow up on the GERD negotiations issue in order to boost Sudan’s strategic interests, including boosting the expected benefits of the dam to the country.