(Bloomberg) --

Ethiopia completed the fourth and final filling of its contentious dam on the Nile River’s main tributary, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Sunday.

In a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Abiy said the process was finished despite “external pressure” and congratulated all who worked on the project.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has been a source of major friction between Ethiopia and downstream nations Egypt and Sudan. Cairo argues the project could sharply curtail its access to river flows that provide the North African nation with over 90% of its freshwater needs.

The Ethiopian premier and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi this summer agreed on moving ahead with talks related to finalizing the agreement about filling and operating the $5 billion dam.

The first official discussions between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the hydropower project in over a year ended without a breakthrough last month. Ethiopia says more talks are planned in its capital, Addis Ababa, in September.

Author: Tarek El-Tablawy