Egypt’s El Sisi discussed GERD with African leaders
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi participated on Friday in a mini-summit grouping member states of the African Union Bureau of Heads of State and Government via video conference to discuss the Renaissance Dam issue. The mini-summit was presided-over by Chairperson of the African Union, President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa. It was also attended by members of the Bureau, including President of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Mali, His Excellency Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, His Excellency President Felix Tshisekedi, in addition to Prime Minister of Sudan, Mr. Abdalla Hamdok and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Abiy Ahmed.
President El Sisi expressed gratitude to President Ramaphosa for his initiative to call for convening this important summit to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam issue in the presence of the three countries concerned, as this vital issue directly affects the lives of millions of people in Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. President El Sisi underscored Egypt’s appreciation for the wisdom and efforts of South Africa, the current chair of the AU, in addressing the exceptional challenges facing the African continent at this stage.
President El Sisi emphasized that Egypt is genuinely open to reaching a just and balanced agreement on the Renaissance Dam, that shall enable Ethiopia to achieve its desired economic development and increase its ability to generate the electricity it needs. This agreement shall also take into consideration the interests of the two downstream countries Egypt and Sudan, without any infringement of their rights to Nile waters. Therefore, efforts shall be exerted, with joint determination, to reach an agreement with regard to the pending issues, primarily rules governing the filling and operation of the dam, in a manner that secures Egypt and Sudan’s water rights and allows Ethiopia to start the filling process after concluding the agreement.
President El Sisi stressed that Egypt is always fully prepared to negotiate in order to reach the noble goal of ensuring the interests of all parties by reaching a just and balanced agreement. Egypt, therefore, confirms that the success of this process requires the pledge of all parties and their clear declaration of not taking any unilateral measure, including not filling the dam without crystallizing an agreement and returning to the negotiation table in order to reach a just agreement that is sought.
There was agreement at the end of the summit to form a governmental committee that includes legal and technical experts from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, in addition to the African countries that are members of the African Union Bureau, and representatives from the international entities that are observing the negotiations process, in order to finalize a legal agreement that is binding to all parties with regard to the rules of filling and operating the Renaissance Dam, while abstaining from taking any unilateral measure, including filling the dam, before an agreement is reached. A letter with the aforementioned content will be sent to the Security Council, as it is the international body with jurisdiction, in order to take it into consideration when holding a session to discuss the Renaissance Dam issue next Monday.
