Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2014 19:09:06 +0200
Ethiopia's foreign minister invites Egypt's El-Sisi for more dam talks in
Addis Ababa
Meeting with Ethiopian officials on Monday sees President El-Sisi continue
promises of 'dialogue' and cooperation between the two countries
Ahram Online, Monday 9 Jun
2014http://english.ahram.org.eg/App_Themes/Black/images/line_re.jpg
Ethiopian 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.
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