Egypt, Azerbaijan Call to Eliminate Financing Terrorist Organizations

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev (Egyptian Presidency)
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt, Azerbaijan Call to Eliminate Financing Terrorist Organizations

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev (Egyptian Presidency)
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev (Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt and Azerbaijan asserted the need for concerted efforts of the international community to combat terrorism and extremism at all levels, particularly financing terrorist groups and providing them with weapons and terrorist elements.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, and held talks with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, at the presidential palace.

Following their meeting, the two leaders held a joint press conference announcing their support for the political settlement in Syria, rebuilding the country, eliminating terrorism, and supporting state institutions.

Presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said the meeting discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations at various levels.

The two sides stressed the importance of building on the profound, friendly, and historical relations between Egypt and Azerbaijan, at both the official and popular levels, to enhance cooperation in areas of common interest.

The two leaders stressed the importance of promoting trade and strengthening the economic partnerships between the two countries private sectors by forming a joint business council.

They also discussed boosting cooperation between the two sides in several sectors, given the two countries' enormous potential and opportunities open for cooperation, particularly in new and renewable energy and natural gas.

They also agreed on the need to boost cooperation in other areas such as construction, infrastructure, transport, pharmaceutical industries, tourism, and culture.

The talks touched on regional and international developments.

Aliyev lauded the path of economic reforms in Egypt, which was conducive to the remarkable and continuous improvement in the indicators of the Egyptian economy.

He lauded Egypt's positive role in reaching political settlements to all crises in its regional environment.

stressing "his country's keenness to continue improving relations with Egypt, especially in light of Egypt's pivotal role as a pillar of stability, security, and peace in the East." Middle and Africa ».

According to the Egyptian Presidency, the two countries agreed on the importance of supporting efforts to reach a political settlement in Syria, rebuild the country, eliminate terrorist groups, and support its state institutions.

They noted that it would help preserve Syria's territorial integrity, fulfill its people's legitimate aspirations, and end their suffering.

The leaders also addressed the recent Libyan developments.

Sisi outlined Egypt's vision for a settlement in Libya and its efforts to support the political, constitutional, and economic tracks.

The meeting discussed the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis at the international level, and the two Presidents also exchanged views on developments in the Palestinian cause.

During the press conference, Sisi said the talks addressed the need to reinvigorate trade between the two countries and promote mutual political relations.

He indicated that the two countries shall thoroughly explore the issue during the 6th Egyptian-Azerbaijani Joint Committee, which is scheduled to convene in Cairo in 2024.

Talks also touched on efforts made by Egypt to overcome the obstacles that foreign investors face and on the major national projects being implemented to advance the national economy.

They discussed the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the advantages it offers foreign investors, notably access for their products to many neighboring Arab and African markets, by taking advantage of the free and preferential trade agreements Egypt shares with these countries.

Sisi welcomed the resumption of flights between Baku and Sharm El-Sheikh, with the possibility of considering launching direct flights between Cairo and Baku.

The Egyptian president noted that the world had just started recovering from the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and its subsequent economic repercussions cast a shadow over various vital sectors in the world.



Egypt Says GERD Lacks Legally Binding Agreement

This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
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Egypt Says GERD Lacks Legally Binding Agreement

This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)

Egypt said Friday that Ethiopia has consistently lacked the political will to reach a binding agreement on its now-complete dam, an issue that involves Nile River water rights and the interests of Egypt and Sudan.

Ethiopia’s prime minister said Thursday that the country’s power-generating dam, known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), on the Nile is now complete and that the government is “preparing for its official inauguration” in September.

Egypt has long opposed the construction of the dam, because it would reduce the country's share of Nile River waters, which it almost entirely relies on for agriculture and to serve its more than 100 million people.

The more than the $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile near the Sudan border began producing power in 2022. It’s expected to eventually produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity — double Ethiopia’s current output.

Ethiopia and Egypt have spent years trying to reach an agreement over the dam, which Ethiopia began building in 2011.

Both countries reached no deal despite negotiations over 13 years, and it remains unclear how much water Ethiopia will release downstream in case of a drought.

Egyptian officials, in a statement, called the completion of the dam “unlawful” and said that it violates international law, reflecting “an Ethiopian approach driven by an ideology that seeks to impose water hegemony” instead of equal partnership.

“Egypt firmly rejects Ethiopia’s continued policy of imposing a fait accompli through unilateral actions concerning the Nile River, which is an international shared watercourse,” Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said in a statement Friday.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in his address to lawmakers Thursday, said that his country “remains committed to ensuring that our growth does not come at the expense of our Egyptian and Sudanese brothers and sisters.”

“We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water,” he said. “Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.”

However, the Egyptian water ministry said Friday that Ethiopian statements calling for continued negotiations “are merely superficial attempts to improve its image on the international stage.”

“Ethiopia’s positions, marked by evasion and retreat while pursuing unilateralism, are in clear contradiction with its declared willingness to negotiate,” the statement read.

However, Egypt is addressing its water needs by expanding agricultural wastewater treatment and improving irrigation systems, according to the ministry, while also bolstering cooperation with Nile Basin countries through backing development and water-related projects.