CAIRO, 7 April, 2021 (TON): Recent negotiations in DRC over the disputed GERD on the Nile River made no progress and failed to reach an agreement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry maintained.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ahmed Hafez, spokesperson of the foreign ministry, "The latest African Union (AU)-sponsored talks that sought to re-launch the deadlocked negotiations for reaching a deal over the filling and operation of the dam came with no progress due to persisting differences."

The media cited the official saying Ethiopia refused the Sudanese proposal that has been approved by Egypt.

The proposal included forming an international quartet committee headed by the AU to mediate the three countries' conflicts.

He added Ethiopia has also rejected all the other alternatives that Egypt has proposed to develop the negotiation process.

He said, "Rejection of the Egyptian proposals that were welcomed by Sudan revealed the absence of Ethiopia's political willing to resume negotiation with good intentions.”

"Egypt is ready to cooperate with Felix Tshisekedi, the president of DR Congo and current chairman of the AU, for finding a solution for the GERD issue in a way that maintains the interests of the three countries and enhances the regional stability," Hafez said.

However, Ethiopia started building the GERD in 2011, while Egypt is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-metre annual share of the Nile water. Meanwhile, Sudan has recently been raising similar concerns over the $4 billion dam as a direct threat to Sudan's national security.