Egyptian President, AUC chairperson discuss African issues

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) Moussa Faki Mahamat discussed, preparations for the upcoming AU Summit, dispute about Ethiopia’s Nile dam and recent developments in the continent.

During a meeting in Cairo, Sisi and Mahamat exchanged views on a number of African issues, in light of the ongoing preparations for holding the annual AU Summit in February, spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, Bassam Rady, said in a statement.

Sisi explained that the path of development in Africa begins with establishing stability and integrated infrastructure that constitutes a basis for development.

He affirmed that Egypt will spare no effort to support other African countries, and will always extend its hand of cooperation, construction and development for all African nations.

For his part, Mahamat said Egypt is a strong pillar of joint African action, and expressed confidence in Egypt to continue to play its role in promoting development efforts in Africa.

Meanwhile, Rady explained that “the meeting also touched on the developments of a number of issues and conflicts in Africa as well as the efforts exerted to solve them.

The disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), within the framework of the AU-sponsored tripartite negotiations, was also discussed”.

The president reiterated Egypt’s position which demands a binding and comprehensive legal agreement among all concerned parties, and rejected any actions or procedures that violate Egypt’s rights in the Nile water, the spokesman said.

Mahamat expressed his appreciation for Egypt’s efforts within the framework of negotiation aimed at reaching a solution to the GERD issue, stressing the importance of continued intensive coordination to reach a fair and balanced agreement.

Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have been negotiating under the mediation of the AU over technical and legal issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD.

Ethiopia, which started building the GERD in 2011, expects to produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity from the project, while Egypt and Sudan, downstream Nile Basin countries that rely on the river for its fresh water, are concerned that the dam might affect their water resources.

Hauwa Mustapha