Ethiopia rejects regional, international mediation to solve GERD crisis

Ethiopia rejects regional, international mediation to solve GERD crisis

Cairo (UNA-OIC) – Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Wednesday that Ethiopia had turned down regional and international mediation to solve the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis.

During a meeting of the Senate’s Arab and African affairs committee on Wednesday, Shoukry briefed MPs about the outcome of his recent African tour, during which he delivered messages from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to a number of African leaders on the latest developments of the GERD issue.

The foreign minister underscored that Egypt supports development and progress in Ethiopia, but not at the expense of other countries, especially when it comes to Nile waters. He elaborated that Egypt possesses decisive capabilities to play a major role in the regional and international arena, stressing that Egypt supports political solutions to the current Renaissance Dam crisis.

Ethiopia’s intransigent position and its rejection of several proposals by both downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan) on the negotiation mechanism have led to the collapse of many rounds of talks, the latest of which was the African Union-led talks held in Kinshasa, DR Congo, on April 4-5.

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