Sisi holds series of meetings with African leaders in Beijing

CAIRO – 3 September 2018: On the sidelines of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi held several meetings with African leaders of Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia on Sunday.


President Sisi (R ) meets with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L) on the sidelines of Beijing-held FOCAC Summit- press photo

In his meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, President Sisi discussed the bilateral relations and the under-construction Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), said presidential spokesperson Bassam Radi in a statement on Sunday.


“The two sides emphasized their desire to reach an agreement on the dam, with guarantees of preserving Egypt's water rights in the Nile River and Ethiopia’s rights to achieve development,” Radi said.


Both sides tackled the ways of enhancing bilateral trade and economic reactions, he added.

Egypt’s concern over its share was escalated after Ethiopia started building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. The tributary feeds 80 percent of the Nile’s water to downstream states.


PHOTO 2 -President Sisi (R ) meets with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (L) on the sidelines of Beijing-held FOCAC Summit- press photo

In 2015, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia signed the Declaration of the Renaissance Dam Principles Charter that tackles the management of the dam with written guarantees, and states that the dam’s reservoir cannot be filled without the approval of Egypt and Sudan. In December 2017, Egypt demanded the intervention of the World Bank in the matter, a move that was rejected by Ethiopia. Unconfirmed reports said that Ethiopia seeks to start filling the GERD’s reservoir during the upcoming Nile flood season in July.

However, a breakthrough was recently witnessed in the ongoing series of discussions among three countries.

In his second meeting in Beijing, President Sisi and Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir discussed the bilateral ties, particularly the preparation of the Higher Joint Committee between Egypt and Sudan due to convene in the near future, said Radi in anther statement on Sunday.


President Sisi (R ) meets with Somali President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed (L) on the sidelines of Beijing-held FOCAC Summit- press photo

During the meeting with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, President Sisi highlighted his country’s full support to Somalia against terrorism.


China is the second stop in Sisi’s foreign tour, after a two-day visit to Bahrian, where he discussed the bilateral relations. Uzbekistan will be the president's last stop.


Sisi arrived on September 1 in Beijing to participate in the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) slated for Sept. 3-4, and a bilateral summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.


“My fifth visit to China is a reflection of the development of the distinguished relations between the two countries as well as between China and Africa, especially in the next phase, where Egypt holds the presidency of the African Union for 2019,” Sisi said in his speech at the CPC Academy.


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