Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi participated on Sunday in a tripartite summit with Ethiopia s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir in Addis Ababa to discuss the issue of Ethiopia s Renaissance Dam, a statement by Egyptian presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady read.
The tripartite summit was an extension of meetings that took place between the three leaders after the African Summit in January 2018. The aim of the meetings is to support the technical negotiations on Ethiopia s Renaissance Dam and overcome any obstacles in this regard.
Ethiopia has been constructing the Renaissance Dam since 2011 on the Blue Nile, the main tributary to the River Nile in Egypt.
Egypt has repeatedly voiced concerns that the dam s filling process would reduce its share of Nile water, which currently stands at 55.5 billion cubic metres per year. Addis Ababa insists that the dam is no threat to Egypt s water supply.
During the summit, President El-Sisi stressed the importance of working to ensure a balanced and cooperative vision to operate the Renaissance Dam and fill its reservoir in a way that serves the interests and objectives of all three countries without violating any of their rights.
The three leaders stressed the need for a shared vision regarding the dam based on the Declaration of Principles signed in Khartoum, and ensure that none of the countries interests are harmed.
Rady said that the three leaders agreed that negotiations should be based on the agreement that the interests of their peoples are not to be harmed, and that they should work together to achieve development in the three countries by working to reach consensus on all outstanding technical issues.
The tripartite summit also discussed enhancing cooperation between the three countries while continuing intensive consultation and coordination on various issues of common interest.
In October, the Ethiopian government announced that the construction of its 6,450-megawatt dam was 62 percent complete.
Sisi to speak at international food safety conference
El-Sisi will be among the speakers at an international conference on food safety to be held in Addis Ababa on 12-13 February.
The First International Food Safety Conference is hosted jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the African Union (AU).
The conference will bring together heads of state, senior policy makers, and representatives from international organisations, civil society and the private sector, the African Union said on its website.
El-Sisi will participate in the gathering as the African Union chairman. Many other African leaders are also expected to attend.
The conference will identify key actions and strategies to address current and future challenges to food safety globally, and to strengthen commitment at the highest political level to scale up food safety in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Some of the key issues to be addressed include the benefits of investing in safe food; safe and sustainable food systems in the context of a changing climate; science, innovation and digital transformations for food safety; and empowering consumers to make healthy choices and support sustainable food systems.
