Egypt welcomed a statement from the White House, which showed the US support to ongoing negotiations by Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to reach a cooperative, sustainable and mutually beneficial agreement on filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement Saturday.

The spokesman hailed the US administration's call on all sides to put forth good faith efforts to reach an agreement that preserves the rights of the three Nile Basin countries, while simultaneously respecting each other's Nile water equities.

Egypt looks forward to the United States’ playing an active role in this regard, especially in light of the deadlock reached between the three countries after more than four years of direct negotiations since the signing of the Declaration of Principles in 2015, Rady said.

Negotiations that have not led to any tangible progress reflect the need for an effective international role to overcome the current stumbling block, to bring the three countries closer, and to reach a fair and balanced agreement based on respect for the principles of international law governing the management and use of international rivers, which allow states to benefit from their resources without prejudice to the interests and rights of other parties, he added.

In this context, Egypt reaffirms its openness to every international mediation effort to reach the required agreement as mentioned in the speech of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to the UN General Assembly last month, the spokesman concluded.

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