El Sisi, Abiy Ahmed vow to overcome obstacles to successful GERD negotiations: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reiterated their mutual commitment to successfully negotiating an agreement on the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to an Ittihadiya statement. The two leaders, who spoke on the phone last weekend, stressed the importance of reaching an agreement that would be satisfactory for Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan. This agreement will fall within the purview of the Declaration of Principles signed by the three nations in 2015, which is intended to form the basis for negotiations, the statement added.

This comes amid rising tensions following stalled talks: Tensions have been escalating between Egypt and Ethiopia in recent weeks, as talks on the operation of the GERD stalled once again. Ethiopia’s rejection of an Egyptian proposal that included conditions on filling the dam’s reservoir prompted an accusation of inflexibility and a call for international mediation from Egypt’s side. Ethiopia, however, is opposed to mediation and has said that Egypt’s proposal is rooted in an inequitable colonial-era water allocation and veto power on any Nile project.