Issuance of Ethiopia's visa for Egyptian citizens becomes very difficult: Ambassador

CAIRO – 20 February 2024: Ambassador to Ethiopia Mohamed Gad stated Tuesday that the issuance of Ethiopia's visa for Egyptian citizens had become very difficult, and that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to often intervene when applicants were officials, doctors or anyone whose travel to the country is salient to both sides.

Nevertheless, the ambassador pointed out that Egypt did not reciprocate the way of treatment with Ethiopian visa applicants. Yet, their documents are treated with caution and given a closer look.

The ambassador's statements came during a lecture organized by the Ministry of Immigration and Egyptian Expats, where he highlighted that Egyptians in the country mostly work for the African Union and various international organizations, mainly in the sectors of social work and operation of medical caravans.

In that context, the ambassador commended the Egyptian Coptic Church for providing aid and medical services to Ethiopian citizens.   

Egypt has announced in December the ending of the negotiation track between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which was launched to expedite the finalization of an agreement on the rules of filling and operation of the dam within four months.

The announcement by Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation came after the concluding of the fourth and final round of negotiations on GERD in Addis Ababa.

According to the Ministry, the meeting was unsuccessful due to Ethiopia's ‘persistent refusal’, that marked its posture over the course of recent years, to accept any of the technical or legal compromise solutions that would safeguard the interests of all three countries, including Ethiopia's pronounced interests, as well as Ethiopia’s consistent backtracking on the understandings that were reached.