Egypt has recently renewed its call for the resumption of negotiations with Ethiopia over its controversial dam it is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River, as talks have been stalled for more than a year and a half.

During his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting Sept. 20, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed the need to resume the tripartite negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as soon as possible, with the aim to reach a legal and binding agreement on filling and operating the dam in a way that would serve the interests of all parties involved and preserve Egypt’s rights to the Nile water.

In another meeting with UN Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Hanna Tetteh in Cairo Sept. 12, Shoukry had warned against the status quo regarding the disputed dam, saying it is a factor of instability that threatens the interests of the peoples of the region and future generations.

On Aug. 12, Ethiopia announced the completion of the third filling of the GERD reservoir with 22 billion cubic meters of water. The move has deepened the crisis with Egypt and Sudan, which continue to reject any unilateral move without reaching an agreement over the dam.