Sisi Reaffirms Egypt’s Commitment to Success of Tripartite Talks on GERD

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi received Saturday Haile Mariam Dessalines, the Special Envoy of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, in Cairo, according to Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady.

“Dessalines, the special envoy and the former Ethiopian Prime Minister, conveyed to President Sisi a message from incumbent Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed,” Rady said.

The message included an affirmation of the great attention that Ethiopia attaches to developing and strengthening its relationship with Egypt.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Chief of the General Intelligence Services Abbas Kamel attended the meeting. 

Dessalines also reviewed the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in the light of latest achievements in the framework of the tripartite negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

The Egyptian president asserted that the Egyptian policy’s principles are based on mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs and upholding values of cooperation and brotherhood among people.

“President Sisi reaffirmed exploitation of resources and dedicating joint efforts in favor of development and construction,” Rady noted.

As for the GERD issue, President Sisi asserted Egypt’s commitment to the success of the tripartite negotiations with the Washington path. 

The spokesperson manifested that with the imminent signing of the agreement over filling and operating the dam’s rules, this would preserve the balance between the interests of all parties, open broad prospects for cooperation, coordination and development among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, and will authorize the start of a new stage towards fostering the relations between the concerned countries.

“Moreover, the success of the tripartite negotiations, sponsored by the U.S. will result in positive and developmental impacts on the entire Nile Basin region, thanks to the regional weight of the three countries,” Rady emphasized. 

On his part, the Ethiopian diplomat expressed his country’s desire to keep bilateral cooperation with Cairo to achieve stability in the region and the African continent, lauding the Egyptian performance during its ruling term of the African Union under wise leadership of President Sisi.