The Foreign ministers of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan are locked in a decisive meeting in Khartoum to iron out their technical differences regarding the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the River Nile. The meeting began on Sunday amid tension over media reports suggesting that Ethiopia has started the second phase of the diversion of the Blue Nile, one of two major tributaries to the main Nile—to allow the main dam wall to be built. However, Sudan’s Foreign Affairs minister, Ibrahim Gandour told reporters after the opening session on Sunday that the video purportedly showing work on the site was an old one and accused some unnamed parties of leaking it to the media to sabotage the current talks. He said that the two-day meeting will discuss the technical differences between the national and international consultancy firms tasked with advising on the suitability of the dam which Ethiopia says was meant to address its energy needs, meeting strong opposition from Egypt and Sudan. Both Cairo and Khartoum fear that their share of water from the Nile would be lost if Ethiopian went ahead with building the dam. Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs minister, Tedros Adhonam said his country would remain committed to reaching an equitable solution with its Nile neighbours which can mollify their reservations about the dam. Mr. Adhanom said that the three countries are determined to work in an atmosphere of honesty and transparency to safeguard their respective interests. His Egyptian counterpart, Samish Shoukry told the conference that they are looking forward to building on the outcome of the previous meeting, stressing the three nations are keen to cooperate to ensure the success of the talks in order to achieve a common position. ”We came to these talks with an open heart and mind to achieve our joint goals and we believe that the tripartite agreement between the three presidents of Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt last March can be a common ground to achieve our shared goals” Shoukry stated. The natural course of the River Nile was diverted about 550 meters (yards) from its natural course, according to videos published by the Egyptian media but Ethiopia has stressed that its dam has nothing to do with the river’s low tide. Egypt expressed reservations that the construction of the GERD will sharply diminish its annual share of water from Nile, but Ethiopia continues to insist that this fear was unfounded.