The water and foreign ministers of Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt agreed to hold a meeting on Sunday and Monday on the Ethiopian renaissance dam in Khartoum, said Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hossam Moghazi on Wednesday.

The meeting will be held to discuss the challenges and give a political and technical drive to the declaration of principles, that was signed by the three countries earlier this year, on the renaissance dam project, he added while inspecting a number of water resources projects on Wednesday in Assiut.

He also said that the official invitations of the Khartoum-hosted meeting are scheduled to be received within hours from Sudanese Water Resources and Electricity Moatez Moussa.

The dam has been a bone of contention between Egypt and Ethiopia, as Egypt fears the dam will have damaging effects on its share of the Nile water.

Ethiopian officials insist the dam will not hamper Egypt's water share and have instead pointed to gains in electricity production offered by the project.

In March 2015, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia signed a declaration of principles on the dam, agreeing to safeguard the interests of all three countries. Two foreign consultancy firms, one Dutch and one French, have been chosen to carry out reports assessing the dam's negative effects on Egypt and Sudan, if any.

Sources: MENA