CAIRO — During Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly's Aug. 15 visit to Khartoum, Egypt and Sudan resumed cooperation on getting Ethiopia to sign a comprehensive and binding agreement setting the rules for filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, visited Khartoum July 28.
The second round of GERD negotiations sponsored by the African Union were suspended Aug. 10. The second round of talks came at Sudan’s request after Ethiopia refused to sign an agreement on how the GERD should be filled and operated. Egypt and Sudan sent letters Aug. 5 to South Africa, which heads the AU, expressing their rejection of Ethiopia's unilateral filling of the GERD.