Sisi, Top State Officials Tackle GERD Developments

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called for preserving Egypt's rights of Nile waters for present and future generations, according to Presidential Spokesperson Ambassador Bassam Rady.

Rady noted that Sisi was convened on Wednesday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Defense and Military Production and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces First Lieutenant General Mohamed Zaki, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Atty, Chief of General Intelligence Abbas Kamel.

"The meeting tackled the developments of the Renaissance Dam, known as GERD, negotiations, especially in light of the current preparations for the next round of meetings this month in Washington," said Rady.

The upcoming meetings in Washington aim to develop a comprehensive agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam.

"President Sisi was briefed on the negotiating position in the framework of US sponsorship of the tripartite negotiations. The Egyptian position, its determinants and constants in this regard were also reviewed," the spokesperson noted.

In another regard, the meeting touched on a number of topics regarding measures being taken to combat terrorism within the framework of protecting and securing the country's borders, in addition to developments in a number of foreign issues in the context of challenges that threaten the security of the region.

Moreover, Khartoum is set to host the penultimate meeting in the latest round of the negotiations on Wednesday and Thursday.

Last week, ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed to reconvene on 28-29 January in the US capital to finalize the agreement after holding technical and legal discussions in the interim period.

The US stepped up to host negotiations in November after the three countries announced that talks had reached a dead-end, and after Egypt called for an international mediator.

Two meetings have been held in Washington so far, and four others in the three countries' capitals, as a part of the roadmap agreed upon during the first US-brokered meetings in Washington in November.