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.

An Aug. 15 Egyptian-Sudanese statement following the discussions between Madbouly and his Sudanese counterpart, Abdullah Hamdouk, outlined conditions for the resumption of negotiations with Ethiopia. The statement read, “It has been agreed to continue negotiations to reach a binding agreement about filling and operating the dam. It is also important to reach an effective and binding mechanism to settle disputes and a coordination mechanism between the three countries to ensure the safety of operation of all facilities and water projects affected by the dam.” The statement stressed the need “to avoid any unilateral measures before reaching an agreement that pleases all three parties.”

A well-informed Egyptian government source told Al-Monitor, “The Egyptian-Sudanese stances were largely aligned during the recent rounds of negotiations, while Ethiopia stalled on reaching a binding agreement in the GERD issue. Sudan now realizes the danger of Ethiopian stalling … as this would affect Sudan’s water interests.”