Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi held talks on Sunday with deputy of Sudan's Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) built on their shared Nile River, the Egyptian presidency said.

The meeting discussed the developments of the GERD issue in the light of the agreement reached through tripartite negotiations in Washington but was unilaterally inked by Egypt, according to Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady.

Dagalo also commended Egypt for "maintaining the safety and stability of Sudan amid the historic turn it goes through," Rady said in a statement.

In late February, Ethiopia declined a U.S.-sponsored ministerial meeting with Egypt and Sudan in Washington to conclude a deal over the rules of filling and operating the GERD that has been building since 2011.

While Ethiopia, an upstream Nile Basin country, eyes massive benefits from the dam construction, downstream Egypt is concerned that it might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of Nile water.

Egypt's fellow downstream country Sudan expects future benefits from the GERD construction despite Egyptian concerns. The Sudanese side also didn't sign the GERD agreement in Washington that was initialled by Egypt in late February.

"Sudan is part of the GERD issue and it will act as a mediator to bring views closer and reach a relevant agreement," Dagalo told reporters following his meeting with Sisi, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.

The GERD is expected to produce over 6,000 megawatts of electricity and become Africa's largest hydropower dam upon completion.