Th leaders of Ethiopia and Egypt, Abiy Ahmed and Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi respectively held talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday.
The talks of the pair focussed on the controversial Dam which Ethiopia is constructing on River Nile.
In a statement, Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson, Bassam Rady said the two countries agreed on adopting a joint vision on Ethiopia’s construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam better known as GERD.
The spokesperson said the vision will be based on both counties’ respect to the development rights and Interest of each other.
The Ethiopian prime minister arrived in Cairo on Saturday for a two-day visit, his first to Egypt since assuming his post in April.
The two leaders also asserted will to push forward bilateral relations and cooperation in all aspects, in particular the political and economic ones, according to Rady.
The construction of the GERD, which will be Africa’s largest dam upon completion with a total volume of 74,000 million cubic meters, has been a major issue among the two countries since its commencement in April 2011, with a construction cost of 80 billion Ethiopian birr (4.7 billion U.S. dollars).
The two countries have been trying for months to settle a dispute over the dam Addis Ababa is building on the Nile River that Cairo fears will threaten its water supplies.
The three nations most dependent on the Nile — Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia — have been holding negotiations for months on the shared use of the water after the massive dam is built.
Egypt has been particularly concerned that the dam, which is being built on the river’s main tributary, will divert too much water and place pressure on its fresh drinking-water supply, agriculture and industry.
Under a decades-old agreement, Egypt has received what neighboring countries perceive as more than its fair share of the water.
Past Egyptian leaders have threatened military action if there was any attempt to dam the Nile. El-Sissi has ruled that out.
Halbeeg News and news agencies
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