CAIRO, 3 March, 2021 (TON): On Tuesday in a meeting at Cairo, Egypt FM Sameh Shoukry and Mariam al-Sadiq, FM of Sudan emphasized it would a direct threat to the water security of Egypt and Sudan if Ethiopia for the second time fills the Nile Dam unilaterally.

The two diplomats talked over a number of common interest issues including the developments in Libya, Palestine, Syria, Yemen and other countries in the region,  and the ways to tackle them, a joint statement stated.

The significance of reaching a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was also highlighted, that would achieve the interests of the three countries, preserve the water rights of Egypt and Sudan, and limit the damages of the project to the two downstream countries.

Both of the officials affirmed their political will and a serious desire to achieve this goal at the earliest possible opportunity, urging Ethiopia to show goodwill and engage in an effective negotiation process.

They also expressed appreciation for the efforts made by South Africa during its presidency of the African Union in guiding the path of the GERD negotiations.

Ethiopia started building the GERD in 2011, while Egypt is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of the Nile water, while, Sudan has also recently raised similar concerns over the 4-billion-US-dollar dam.

During the successful bilateral talks, the two sides invited each other to have investment cooperation, and boost trade and economic relations.