Egypt will host the sixth round of the Joint Egyptian-Ethiopian Ministerial Committee in 2016, stated Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty said Monday.
During the fifth round of the committee meeting held in Addis Ababa from Nov. 1-3, both countries signed five agreements and memoranda of understanding in fields of trade, health, diplomatic training, education, and technical education, Abdel Atty added.
The relations between both countries cooled dramatically after Ethiopia began construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which Ethiopia has said is necessary for its development, but Cairo has claimed will endanger the Egyptian share of Nile water. During the Morsi administration, the issue became a political albatross for the president, and he claimed on numerous occasions he would not let the dam construction continue.
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi agreed with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on the sidelines of the African Summit held in June in Equatorial Guinea to resume tripartite talks over the dam.
On the sideline of the Addis Ababa committee meetings , the Egyptian-Ethiopian Business Forum hosted 100 businessmen from both countries, Atty noted. The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour headed the 50-businessmen delegation.
Sisi would visit Ethiopia soon, Atty told The Cairo Post Monday, noting that there is no specific time scheduled for the expected visit.
