Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan continue negotiations over disputed dam

(Patria) - Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan resumed their years-long negotiations on Sunday over a controversial dam that Ethiopia is building on the main tributary of the Nile River, officials said, AP reported.

The resumption of talks came after President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said last month they aimed to reach an agreement within four months on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, worth $4.6 billion. The Blue Nile joins the White Nile in the Sudanese capital Khartoum before flowing north through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.

Egypt fears the consequences if the dam is operated without taking its needs into account. It has called it an existential threat. The most populous country in the Arab world relies almost entirely on the Nile for water supply for agriculture and its more than 100 million people. About 85% of the river's flow originates in Ethiopia.

Egypt's Ministry of Irrigation announced a new round of talks in Cairo. Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam said Egypt wants a legally binding agreement on how the massive dam is operated and filled. Sewilam said there are many "technical and legal solutions" to the dispute, without elaborating.

Tensions have risen between Cairo and Addis Ababa after the Ethiopian government began filling the dam's reservoir before reaching an agreement.

Key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream in the event of a multi-year drought and how the three countries will resolve future disputes. Ethiopia has rejected binding arbitration in the final phase of the project.

Ethiopia says the dam is necessary, arguing that most of its citizens lack electricity.

Sudan wants Ethiopia to coordinate and share data on the dam's operation to avoid floods and protect its own hydroelectric dams on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile. The dam is located only 10 kilometers from the Sudanese border.