Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced Sunday that Ethiopia has completed the filling of its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile, a source of regional tensions with downstream Egypt and Sudan.

“It is with great pleasure that I announce the successful completion of the fourth and final filling of the Renaissance Dam,” Abiy said in a message on X, formerly Twitter, which comes as negotiation between the three countries resumed August 27.

“There was a lot of challenge, we were many times dragged to go backwards. We had an internal challenge and external pressure. We’ve reached (this stage) by coping together with God,” he said.

“I believe that we will finish what we have planned next,” he said. 

Considered vital by Addis Ababa, the massive $4.2-billion dam has been at the center of a regional dispute ever since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011, with Egypt fearing it will slash its share of Nile water.

The current talks, which resumed after nearly two and a half years, aim to reach an agreement that “takes into account the interests and concerns of the three countries,” Egyptian irrigation minister Hani Sewilam said, urging “an end to unilateral measures.”
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