Pope Tawadros II, the most senior figure in Egypt’s Coptic tradition, led Sunday mass at Medhane Alem Cathedral in Addis Ababa with his Ethiopian counterpart Patriarch Mathias on Sunday, reported MENA news agency.Tawadros II arrived in Ethiopia on Saturday to begin a four day visit coinciding with the Feast of the Cross festival.
Patriarch Mathias, head of Ethiopia's Orthodox Tewahedo Church, received Tawadros II on Saturday at the Holy Trinity Cathedral where they spoke about Egyptian-Ethiopian relations.
Ethiopa's Tawehedo and Egypt's Coptic churches are both in the Orthodox Christian tradition.
Pope Tawadros II mentioned the importance of the Nile River, hinting that experts and political leaders on both sides were keen to deal with any issues regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Talks over the dam have stalled after the withdrawal of Dutch consultancy firm Deltares from efforts to assess the probable impact of GERD.
Ethiopia’s foreign minister Tedros Adhanom said on Saturday in New York that he considers proceedings to be positive between Ethiopia , Egypt and Sudan on all levels, refusing to comment on the progress of the GERD negotiations which have caused tensions with Egypt.
Egypt has repeatedly expressed concerns about its share of the Nile water in the GERD project.
