Egypt, Ethiopia make breakthrough in Nile dam project talks

The leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia on Sunday vowed to settle their differences over a mega-dam project Addis Ababa is building on the Nile River.

Ethiopia began building the $4 billion dam in 2012, but the mega project has triggered tensions primarily with Egypt, as Cairo fears that once commissioned the dam will reduce water supplies from the Nile to Egypt.

Talks over the Grand Renaissance Dam have been deadlocked for months, but leaders of the two countries on Sunday signalled they had made a breakthrough during a press conference in Cairo.

"We have come a long way in building confidence and strengthening bilateral cooperation," Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his country was committed to ensuring Egypt's share of Nile water.

"We will take care of the Nile and we will preserve your share and we will work to increase this quota and President Sisi and I will work on this," Ahmed said, addressing Egyptians.

At the end of the press conference Sisi asked Ahmed to swear to God before the Egyptian people that he will not harm Egypt's share of the Nile.

"I swear to God, we will never harm you," Ahmed repeated the words in Arabic after Sisi, who thanked him for releasing jailed Ethiopians.

Safeguarding Egypt's share of the Nile has been top of Sisi's agenda as he begins his second term in office.

Egypt relies almost totally on the Nile for irrigation and drinking water, and says it has "historic rights" to the river, guaranteed by treaties from 1929 and 1959.

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