Senegalese President Voices Support for Egypt's Rights in Nile Waters

On Saturday, the Senegalese President Macky Sall received the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea, at the presidential palace in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as part of her visit to the African country to co-chair the first meeting of the business council held within the framework of the Egypt-West Africa Bridges Forum.

During the meeting, Gamea conveyed a message from Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to Senegalese counterpart, confirming the depth of the historical and strategic relations between the two countries.

She also reiterated Egypt's keenness to develop various frameworks of joint cooperation, especially the economic, commercial, and industrial aspects.

The Minister of Trade and Industry indicated that President Sisi's message also confirmed Egypt's aspiration that the entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement since the beginning of last January will contribute to advancing the movement of trade exchange between Egypt and the countries of the African continent in general, and Senegal in particular.

"Establishing the Egyptian-Senegalese business forum comes in line with the Egypt- West & Central Africa Bridges initiative launched by Cairo, giving a push to the members of the council to work on further promoting trade and investment flow between both countries," Gamea said.

She asserted the importance of the meeting to explore available cooperation prospects between the Egyptian and the Senegalese sides as well as discussing obstacles facing the flow of trade and investment in an effort to double trade volume between both countries which she said hit dlrs 67.6 million in 2020.

On his part, the Senegalese President expressed his appreciation for the distinguished relations between Egypt and Senegal, hailing the friendship ties between the leadership of the two countries.

He also voiced his aspiration to strengthen joint action in order to push bilateral relations to broader horizons during the next stage, especially in the economic field.

Macky also praised the pivotal role played by Egypt, under El-Sisi's leadership, during its rotational presidency of the African Union in defending African issues on the international scene and seeking to achieve development for all the peoples of the continent, stressing Senegal's full support for the eternal rights of the Egyptian people in the waters of the Nile River.

He pointed out that his country will chair the next session of the African Union next February, and will place a top priority on finding a radical solution to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis, in order to preserve the historical water rights of the Egyptian people.