Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Cairo on Wednesday night to discuss the conflict in Sudan and the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Sisi welcomed Ahmed at the presidential palace in Cairo, according to the Egyptian presidency.
“Pleased to have met with President El Sisi in Cairo, Egypt for talks marked by the spirit of cooperation on bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest,” Ahmed wrote on Twitter.
Media outlets reported that the two parties touched upon ways to resume negotiations over the grand dam that is being built, which Egypt sees as a threat to its vital share of the river’s water.
This followed Ethiopia’s announcement last month that it was preparing for a fourth filling of the dam. Addis Ababa is not coordinating the move with either Cairo or Khartoum.
Egypt underlined that the dam would reduce its share of Nile water, wiping out hundreds of thousands of agricultural jobs and disrupting its delicate food balance.
Hence, Egypt and Sudan called on Ethiopia to enter a legally binding agreement on the operation of the $5 billion dam, which is built on the Blue Nile about 20km from the border with Sudan.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister visited Cairo to participate in a summit of Sudan’s neighbors that kicked off on Thursday.
During the summit, countries discussed ways to end the three-month-old conflict between Sudan’s army rival and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which created a humanitarian crisis.
