El-Sisi underscored the importance of encouraging Ethiopia to sign a legally binding deal on the rules for filling and operating the dam.

Egypt and Sudan have been negotiating with Ethiopia for almost a decade now to reach a legally binding deal on the GERD, which Addis Ababa started building on the Blue Nile in 2010.

Both downstream nations have blamed the failure of the talks on Ethiopia's “intransigence” and refusal to sign any legally binding deal, seeking instead non-binding "guidelines."

The last round of negotiations between the three countries collapsed in April 2021 in Kinshasa, DRC, while all attempts to revive negotiations since then have failed.

Ethiopia unilaterally completed three phases of filling the GERD's reservoir and announced in February last year that the first turbine of the dam had begun generating power.

Egypt, which relies mainly on the Nile for its water needs, fears that the unilateral and quick filling and operation of the GERD will have a negative impact on the country's water supply.