Egypt’s Sisi, Abu Dhabi ruler discuss crisis of Ethiopia’s Renaissance dam

CAIRO- 24 April 2021: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, held on Saturday a bilateral meeting, during which they discussed the crisis of the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

 

President Sisi has received Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday at the Cairo International Airport, said Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi in a statement.

 

 

“The talks dealt with a number of vital files on the regional arena, and the issue of the Renaissance Dam. The discussions reflected a mutual understanding between the two sides regarding ways to deal with these files,” said Radi, adding that both leaders agreed to continue joint efforts to reach political settlements for the existing crises in a number of countries in the region.

 

On March 26, 2021, the UAE proposed to mediate in the negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to reach a legal binding agreement regarding the operation of the dam and the process of filling its reservoir with the Nile water without causing harms to the downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan).

 

The governments of Egypt and Sudan announced that the two countries will be affected by the second filling of the dam due in mid-July if Ethiopia took this action unilaterally. In mid-July 2020, Ethiopian authorities unilaterally carried out the first phase of the filling process with 4.9 billion cubic meters.

 

During the bilateral meeting with the Abu Dhabi ruler, President Sisi affirmed Egypt's keenness to promote bilateral cooperation with the UAE in various fields, Radi said.

 

 

Also, it was also agreed maximize the Egyptian-Emirati cooperation to protect Arab national security and to confront foreign interference in the sovereign affairs of the countries of the region.

 

President Sisi also affirmed Egypt’s consistent position towards the security of the Gulf and rejecting any practices that seek to destabilize it.

 

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan praised Egypt’s pivotal role in the region, affirming the joint desire to move forward towards further deepening and developing the bilateral relations on various levels.