President El-Sisi Participates in Virtual Mini-Summit on GERD

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi participated this evening in a virtual mini-summit to discuss the outcomes of the recent technical and legal meetings on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Prime Minister of Sudan Abdalla Hamdok and Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed participated in the summit, which was chaired by President of South Africa and Chairperson of the African Union Cyril Ramaphosa. The summit was also attended by presidents of Kenya, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency stated that, during the summit, President El-Sisi re-expressed his appreciation for the efforts exerted by President of South Africa Ramaphosa on the issue of the Renaissance Dam.

The President also stressed Egypt’s constant and sincere desire to achieve progress on the contentious issues, which is essential in any fair and balanced agreement reached regarding the GERD. His Excellency stressed that the political will is needed for arriving at a consensus on those pending issues, thus increasing the likelihood of reaching the desired agreement, and enhancing confidence-building and cooperation to achieve the common interests between the three countries.

At the end of the summit, it was agreed to continue negotiations and to prioritize, for the time being, reaching a binding legal agreement on the rules of the filling and operation of the GERD. The importance of developing a comprehensive agreement for all aspects of joint cooperation between the three countries regarding the use of the Nile water was also emphasized.