“Egypt continues its vigorous efforts to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD),” stressed the Egyptian ministry.

 “This agreement should safeguard Egypt's interests, protect its water security, and ensure benefits for all three countries,” noted the statement. 

“Egypt's positive approach is conducive for the success of the upcoming round of negotiations to resolve the dispute on the filling and operation of the GERD - building on the recent agreement between the two leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia on the need to resolve the dispute in the coming months," added the Egyptian ministry.

Another round
 

Earlier on Monday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement that delegations from Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan at the trilateral ministerial-level talks that just ended in Cairo agreed to meet in Addis Ababa in September to hold another round of negotiations to resolve the dispute.

 “The three parties exchanged views to reach a win-win resolution and Ethiopia will endeavour to conclude the trilateral negotiation based on the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization while ensuring its rightful share of the Nile waters," added the Ethiopian foreign ministry statement.

The last round of talks between the three parties to resolve the dispute over the GERD, which was sponsored by the African Union, collapsed in April 2021.

Over the last three years, in the absence of a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam as demanded by Egypt, Ethiopia unilaterally completed the first three fillings of the dam and is undertaking the fourth filling at the moment.

Egypt has charged that unilateral Ethiopian actions contravene international law and the UN Security Council's Presidential Statement issued on ways to resolve the dispute in September 2021.