(MENAFN) Egypt's Foreign Ministry says it accepts Ethiopia's request to postpone a meeting about a dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile River, after Addis Ababa announced a state of emergency amid the worst anti-government protests in decades.

The meeting, which was to talk over contentious issues over the dam, which Egypt worries could decrease its portion of the Nile waters, was to include Sudan and take place in Khartoum on Feb. 24-25.

Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said on Sunday that Egypt understands "the circumstances that might have led Ethiopia to request delaying the meeting," which Cairo hopes will be rescheduled soon.

Ethiopia and Sudan will advantage from the building of so-called Renaissance Dam, while Egypt will see its share of the river reduced, at least temporarily.