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| Ethiopian Prime minister, Abiy Ahmed (L) and his Egyptian counterpart, Mostafa Madbouly (R) on the sidelines of African Union Summit. |
Egypt said on Sunday it would hold talks with Ethiopia in the next two weeks to iron out differences over an Ethiopian dam on the River Nile that Cairo sees as a threat to its water supplies.
The two countries and Sudan have held a series of meetings over the $4 billion hydroelectric Grand Renaissance Dam, but have yet to reach a deal on managing flows and other issues.
Egypt fears the scheme will restrict the waters coming down down from Ethiopiaโs highlands, through the deserts of Sudan, to its fields and reservoirs. Ethiopia, which wants to become Africaโs biggest power exporter, says it will have no such impact.
Egyptโs prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, said he and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed, agreed โto start bilateral discussions in the next two weeks to agree on the points that remain unagreed,โ state news agency MENA reported.
MENA cited Abiy as saying he wanted to preserve Egyptโs Nile river rights.
The dam was scheduled to be finished by 2020, but Abiy said in August it would be delayed by several years.
