Egypt’s Sisi discusses with SA counterpart developments in GERD, Libya

CAIRO – 25 July 2020: The Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al Sisi received Saturday a phone call from his African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss the latest developments in the Great  Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Libyan crisis, said the Presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady.

During the call, Sisi reiterated the Egyptian stance on GERD that calls for a  legally comprehensive agreement between the involved parts on the operating and filling of the dam, and rejects any unilateral action that would harm Egyptian water rights.

The South African President said he hopes that the coordination continues between his country and Egypt on GERD until a fair and balanced agreement is reached.

The two presidents have also discussed the situation in Libya and exchanged opinions on how to revive a political negotiation as per the results of Berlin conference and Cairo’s initiative in order to contain the violations of the armed militias, terrorists, and foreign interventions that threaten the security and stability of the region.

The African Union called Friday on Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to urgently finalize a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam, with the support of African Union experts and observers.

In its statement, the AU said that the latest meeting on the GERD negotiations last Tuesday reflected noticeable progress in the negotiations.

This statement; however, came in conjunction with Ethiopian statements rejecting any binding agreement according to Al Arabiya.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry explained that it only seeks to reach a ‘guiding agreement’, not binding regarding the GERD legal and technical aspects.