Ethiopia renews commitment to cooperation with Egypt in dam talks

CAIRO - July 2017: Ethiopian Parliament Speaker Abadula Gemeda has stressed his country’s commitment to cooperation with Egypt with regard to negotiations on the Renaissance Dam along with other fields.

Gemeda, who is the head of Ethiopia’s popular diplomacy delegation, made the comments during his meeting at his office in the Ethiopian capital with Egypt’s Ambassador in Addis Ababa Abu Bakr Hanafy to discuss the latest developments in the bilateral relations.

Ethiopia cannot build its development and prosperity at the expense of any people in the region, including the Egyptian people, he said, asserting his confidence that constructive and transparent dialogue can serve the mutual benefit without harm to any party.

For his part, the Egyptian diplomat asserted the importance of continuing efforts to boost the popular relations between the two countries, especially at the level of mutual visits by the popular diplomacy delegations.

The two sides also discussed setting a date to hold a joint higher committee meeting as soon as possible.