Egypt has been seeking a multilateral international mediation to pressure Ethiopia before it moves ahead with the second phase of filling its mega-dam on the Blue Nile.
Cairo and Khartoum reject Addis Ababa’s unilateral move before reaching a binding legal agreement that would determine the rules of filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Tunisia on Thursday on the last leg of his African tour that also took him to Kenya, Comoros, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Niger.
During his visits, Shoukry delivered letters from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Egypt’s stance from the GERD dispute.
On his arrival to Tunis, Shoukry expressed his country’s willingness to coordinate with several states and parties to resolve the dispute and ensure regional stability and security, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Shoukry also briefed Senegal’s President Macky Sall on the talks between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan in Kinshasa that ended with no progress.
Senegal is a current member of the African Union Bureau and is expected to chair the AU in 2022.
Head of the Egyptian Parliament’s African Affairs Committee Sherif El Gabaly urged all the continent’s countries to support Egypt’s historic rights in the Nile River’s waters.
The world has become aware of Addis Ababa’s “intransigence,” he stated, noting that his country is keen to protect its water security, being an integral part of its national security, and it will “never allow its rights to be violated.”
On April 18, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted that the second filling of the mega-dam will go ahead as scheduled in the next rainy season in July/August whether or not the three countries reached an agreement.
