Ethiopia’s FM Invites Egypt’s Al-Sisi for More Dam Talks in Addis Ababa

Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom has invited Egypt’s newly-inaugurated President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to visit his country, Al-Ahram’s Arabic news website reported.

The invitation came during a meeting on Monday at the presidential headquarters in Cairo’s Heliopolis district, where El-Sisi met with Adhanom in addition to Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and Ethiopia’s ambassador to Egypt, Mahmoud Dardeer.

A spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, Ihab Badawy, said that El-Sisi stressed the deep, historical bonds between the two countries and insisted that the issue concerning Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam “should be solved through dialogue”.

El-Sisi said that Egypt understands Ethiopia’s needs for development and thus Ethiopia should understand Egypt’s needs to its share of the Nile.

According to Badawy, the Ethiopian foreign minister stressed that his country does not intend to minimise Egypt’s share of Nile water and that the dam’s purpose is to generate electricity.

Adhanom also said that he is looking forward to having El-Sisi meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn at the African Union Summit scheduled to take place in late June in Equatorial Guinea.

Meanwhile, El-Sisi showed his intention to visit Ethiopia to stress the importance of cooperation between the two countries.

Ties between the two countries have soured since Addis Ababa began construction on a hydroelectric dam that Cairo fears will substantially harm its share of the Nile, the country’s main source of potable water.

On Sunday, Adhanom headed a delegation that attended El-Sisi’s swearing-in ceremony at Ittihadiya presidential palace. Other attendees included Arab royals, African leaders and dignitaries from among Egypt’s western allies.

Source: Ahram Online