Egypt’s FM embarks on African tour to brief leaders on GERD updates

Egypt’s FM embarks on African tour to brief leaders on GERD updates

Cairo (UNA-OIC) – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry headed on Sunday evening to Kenya, at the start of an African tour that will also take him to Comoros, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Tunisia.

Shoukry is carrying messages from Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to the leaders of these countries on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) updates and the Egyptian stance in this regard.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a statement that Shoukry’s tour stems from Egyptian keenness to brief African countries about the reality of the situation of the negotiations in terms of the Renaissance Dam issue.

The tour also comes as Egypt is keen to back the path of reaching a legally binding agreement on the filling and operating the dam, in a way that takes into consideration the interests of the three Nile Basin countries, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Ethiopia plans to move ahead with the second filling of the GERD reservoir in July despite the objections of Egypt and Sudan, who insist on reaching a legally binding agreement before the filling process.

Rounds of African Union-sponsored talks to reach a deal have reached a deadlock amid Ethiopia’s intransigent position, including the latest round in Kinshasa, DR Congo, earlier this month. The talks, held under the AU auspices, were dubbed by Egypt as the “last chance”.

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