Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday that Egypt will deal with the impact of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) by employing tight measures in managing water resouces.

"The second filling will not affect Egypt's water interests. We have confidence that we can deal with the second filling [of GERD] by adopting tight measures in managing our water resources," Shoukry said in TV statements.

In an interview with Nashaat El-Deehy on TEN satellite channel on Tuesday, the top diplomat noted that "we [Egyptians] ought to be reassured for having a balance of safety represented in the High Dam reservoir."

Ethiopian officials have repeatedly announced that Ethiopia will go ahead with the second filling of GERD in the rainy season starting in July despite the requests of downstream countries Egypt and Sudan to refrain from any unilateral action before reaching a legally binding instrument.

Concerning the international attempts to resolve the crisis, Shoukry stated they reflect a recognition of the importance of the disputed GERD issue and allow the current chairman of the African Union (AU) and President of DR Congo to understand the Egyptian point of view, which is characterised by flexibility, moderation, and a desire to end the crisis through reaching an agreement.

“The US special envoy to the Horn of African has regional experience due to his assuming many positions that qualify him to quickly interact with the GERD issue,” Shoukry said, referring to Jeffrey Feltman.

"Egypt is waiting for an invitation from the chair of the AU to hold a meeting to be attended by all the involved parties to give a chance for negotiations within a new framework," Shoukry said.

The foreign minister added that such new framework would allow more effective participation of international observers to converge views and reach solutions that would facilitate sealing an agreement.