A lot of things happened since we left. Of course, covid-19 started to take over world events in March 2020.
Ethiopia did not delay it’s schedule and tested its dam by filling GERD’s reservoir in July 2020.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister (Translated from Amharic by Google Translate):
Congratulations! It was the Nile River, and the river became a lake. It will no longer flow into the river. In the lake, Ethiopia has surrendered to all the development it wants. In fact, the Nile is ours !!
Despite all the noise, Egypt did …nothing militarly. They even failed to get “negotiations” moved out of the African Union and to a more sympathetic (and USA influenced) forum. However they were able to get the USA to pull Ethiopian aid. Trump even told Ethiopia that “Egypt should blow up the dam” and that “they should’ve done that a long time ago”.
In the meantime, Ethiopia is undergoing a damaging civil war since October 2020. Regional forces in the northern state of Tigray, unhappy with policy choices undertook by Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed, took control of federal bases and expelled the federal army. In return, federal forces invaded the state and destroyed the regional forces. But fighting, atrocities, and refugees continue to this day (6 months later).
In addition to that elections has been delayed due to logistical troubles registring voters and a conflict opened up with Sudan on the pourous nature of their shared northern border. Sudan no longer wants Ethiopians occupying remote Sudanese territory.
To get back to the Nile dam. Ethiopia has another scheduled filling of it in July.
It is expected that they will do so with protest by the Egyptians, but without any real response. The GERD is a fait acompli.
Egypt hasn’t been able to get Ethiopia to recognize “its rights” to the waters. Egypt has not been able to get Ethiopia to delay its construction. Egypt has not been able to get Ethiopia controlled/punished in any international forum for the GERD. Ethiopia has complely avoided all of this by sticking to the African Union and not accepting any US direction.