Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the country will begin a trial run for power generation at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) during the upcoming rainy season, as it prepares for the second filling of the reservoir.

“No force can disrupt the efforts underway to fill the dam and the process in line with the filling and operation of the project,” the ministry said in a statement.

Egypt and Sudan, which rely on Nile water resources, have stressed the need for a final agreement to enable the operation of Ethiopia’s dam.

Talks on the dam, which began in 2011 when it was first being constructed, have stalled several times, precipitating regional tensions.