As talks over the Nile waters resumed on June 10, Egypt continued to defend its objections to Ethiopia's plan to start filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in July.

In an interview with The EastAfrican, Egyptian ambassador to Kenya, Khaled ElAbyad, said the impact of the water shortages in Egypt caused by the dam project could be catastrophic.

Ethiopia went ahead to announce that it was planning to store 4.9 billion cubic metres of Nile waters in the reservoir of the dam in July, while Cairo insists on adhering to the Washington talks on filling and operating rules for the mega project, as well as to the declaration of principles signed between the three countries in 2015.

The agreement reached in Washington guarantees that Ethiopia will fill the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and generate at least 75 to 80 per cent of hydropower.

These rules also include mitigation measures that ensure the sustainable generation of hydropower from the mega project while assisting downstream countries to minimise the impact of droughts.