Egypt on Sunday backed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the current chair of the African Union (AU), and its efforts in overseeing joint African action this year.
Sisi received Sunday a letter from his Congolese counterpart Felix- Antoine Tshisekedi, current AU chairman, handed by Special envoy of the Congolese president and Permanent Representative to the AU Jean Léon Ngandu Ilunga during a meeting in Cairo, in the presence of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the chargé d'affaires of the Congolese embassy in Egypt.
The letter conveyed the Congolese president's appreciation of Egypt's keen efforts in support of the DRC during its current chairmanship of the AU.
It also hailed the brotherly ties between the two countries, voicing an interest in pushing these ties forward.
Sisi stressed Egypt's commitment to maintain its support to DRCongo to enable it to lead joint African action as chairman of the AU for 2021.
The statement did not mention whether the two sides discussed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). It nevertheless stressed that the meeting dealt with a raft of priority issues on the AU agenda.
Sunday’s meeting came two weeks after Congo presented an initiative to solve the GERD dispute between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Last month, DRC’s Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula visited Cairo, Khartoum and Addis Ababa for talks with leaders on ways to help find a legal solution to the dispute.
In mid-September, the UN Security Council issued a statement encouraging Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations, under the AU president to finalize a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the dam.
