The council encompasses eight state members that are Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Eritrea, Sudan, Yemen, and Djibouti. As reported by Sky News Arabia, the Saudi official declared that his country works on ending in a way that guarantees the water rights of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia asserting support to the Arab water security. In mid-July 2020, Ethiopian authorities unilaterally carried out the first phase of the filling process with 4.9 billion cubic meters; and it is expected – as reported by the BBC- that the second phase of the filling would reach 13 billion cubic meters. The dispute among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia dates back to May 2011 when Ethiopia started building the dam; Egypt voiced concern over its water share [55.5 billion cubic meters]. Three years later, a series of tripartite talks between the two countries along with Sudan began to reach an agreement, while Ethiopia continued the dam construction.

Source: Egypt Today February 18, 2021 07:52 UTC