During a meeting with South Sudanese Vice President James Wani Igga, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi considered necessary a pact on the completion and operation of the work, a communique stated.

El-Sisi considered that such agreement will guarantee the development rights and preserve the Egyptian water security.

The president said some few days ago that Egypt and Sudan, the other nation critical of the project, can reach a pact with Ethiopia about the issue.

Tension escalated this month after Addis Ababa announced the start of the second stage of filling of the dam, a decision questioned by Cairo and Khartoum, whose governments claim that this action should not have started without an agreement between the parties because they fear a substantial drop in their access to the river water.

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