Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian criticized on Wednesday two memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed last week between Libya’s National Accord Government and Turkey delimiting maritime borders in the Mediterranean and covering military and security cooperation between both sides. In a phone call between them, the two top diplomats said the deals contravene international law and a UN arms embargo on Libya. They both stressed the importance of reaching a comprehensive political settlement for the Libyan crisis, supporting the Libyan state’s institutions and elected parliament and helping Libya in its efforts to eradicate terrorism, end the military conflict and set the stage for holding free elections. The ministers also discussed Egypt-France cooperation and solid relationship, agreeing on the importance of maintaining consultation and coordination to further promote ties especially in the economic, trade and investment fields. Shoukry offered his condolences to France for the loss of 13 of its soldiers in a tragic helicopter accident in Mali and reviewed with Le Drian the latest developments in the Middle East region and most particularly conditions in Libya. The French minister invited Shoukry to visit France in the next few weeks for more bilateral talks and they both agreed that the visit should take place next month.

Egypt s irrigation ministry has dismissed reports that a joint statement was issued after the end of the final day of trilateral talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Cairo. “The meetings concluded with an agreement to continue consultations and technical discussions on controversial issues during the third meeting, scheduled to be held in Khartoum on 21-22 December,” the statement read. "The ministry said it is also looking forward to continuing negotiations at the upcoming meeting scheduled in Washington on 9 December, as well as subsequent meetings," the statement added. The two-day Cairo talks discussed the outcomes of the first meeting held in Addis Ababa on 15-16 November, in an attempt to bridge the gaps between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan and to reach a consensus on the rules of filling and operation of the GERD, according to the statement. The statement added that the Egyptian side aspires to reach a fair agreement, to coordinate between the operation of the GERD and the Aswan High Dam. The Cairo-hosted talks are the second of four rounds of talks being held in accordance with an agreement reached in a US-brokered meeting between the three parties in Washington in November, which saw the attendance of representatives of the US government and the World Bank and aimed to break a deadlock in negotiations. The timeframe for filling and operating the dam is one of the main obstacles in the negotiations. The three countries have tabled different proposals on the duration of filling the GERD’s reservoir. Egypt’s proposal calls for a relatively extended filling period. Ethiopia began building the mega-dam in 2011, in a bid to provide electricity to more than half of its population and to become the continent s biggest power exporter. Egypt, however, fears that the filling the Ethiopian dam will adversely diminish its share of Nile water, which the country depends on.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has praised the achievements of the leaders of the United Arab Emirates as the Gulf country celebrates its national day, which marks the 48th anniversary of its founding. "It is a day when the people of the country united with their leadership for a better future for the UAE, full of achievements, progress and prosperity," El-Sisi said on Twitter on Monday. The president was referring to 1971, when the seven gulf emirates united to form the UAE after they gained full independence from Britain. El-Sisi called Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday to express his good wishes for the country, El-Sisi s spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The UAE is one of Egypt s key Arab allies.

Egypt s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly opened on Monday the 5th Arab Forum on the prospects for nuclear power for electricity generation and seawater desalination, organised by Egypt s Nuclear Power Plant Authority and the Arab Atomic Energy Agency, in cooperation with the Arab League, the Arab Ministerial Council of Electricity and the Arab Union of Electricity. In his opening speech, Madbouly said that nuclear power is one of the strategic choices for achieving sustainable development, and stressed that the forum is a vital event for the Arab region given the increasing interest in the peaceful uses of nuclear power in various fields. "What we are all aware of is the significance of the constant coordination and affirmation of the peaceful use of nuclear power, as evidenced by the high-level representation of various international institutions in the forum," the prime minister said. He asserted that the forum is an opportunity to express support for Arab countries orientation toward the enduring development and the peaceful usage of nuclear power, in addition to achieving communication and discussion between specialists and experts to back decision makers to meet the growing demands on electricity and desalinated water using nuclear power.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi directed on Saturday the bodies concerned to support the New Administrative Capital with state-of-the-art services, taking into account long-term development purposes. El-Sisi made his directives during a meeting with Chairman of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority Ihab El Far and a number of senior officials from the authority and Presidential Adviser for Urban Planning Amir Sayed Ahmed. The meeting discussed work progress in several under-construction projects undertaken by the authority in the new capital, especially the government district, its central road network and an Islamic cultural center, Presidential Spokesman Bassan Rady said. It also tackled the latest developments in number of national projects in progress nationwide to improve the state s road networks and management of water resources, Rady added. The President underlined the need to observe the projects deadlines. The 700 square kilometre capital, launched in 2015 by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, will house more than 6.5 million people. The first phase of the New Administrative Capital comprises a government district, residential neighbourhoods, and a business district. The government is planning to relocate ministries to the new capital by mid-2020.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi named 16 new provincial governors on Wednesday, ahead of an anticipated ministerial reshuffle. Eleven of the 16 new governors held senior security or army roles before their appointment. Wednesday’s appointments include the naming of Giza security chief General Mohamed El-Sherif as governor of Alexandria, a position that has been held by an engineering professor since August 2018. El-Sherif previously served as Alexandria security chief and was in charge of the national security body in the governorate. The new appointments come as a number of Egyptian MPs expect an upcoming cabinet reshuffle that will involve around 10 ministers, including those responsible for health, supply and education. Several incumbent governors have been moved to other governorates, including those appointed in Kafr El-Sheikh, Assiut and Fayoum. Head of the Suez Canal University, Tarek Rashed Rahmy, has been named as governor of Gharbiya and former military officer Sherif Fahmy as Ismailia governor, succeeding another general who resigned a few months ago. General Khaled Shoaib, an advisor to the defense minister who supervised parliament and presidential elections in recent years, was appointed governor of Marsa Matrouh. Many provincial governors of Egypt s 27 governorates usually hail from the army or police. Twenty-three deputy governors were also appointed on Wednesday, according to state TV, many of whom are graduates of a presidential youth program and a new state academy for youth training. Those include appointees in the governorates of Alexandria, Giza and South Sinai.

Egypt has successfully launched its Tiba 1 Satellite from a space centre in French Guiana in South America at 11:22 CLT on Tuesday. Launched by an Ariane 5 rocket, Egypt s first telecommunication satellite was initially scheduled to launch last Friday, but the launch was postponed due to a malfunction in the power supply to the launching platform. It was due to be launched on Monday but then was postponed for a further 24 hours. The head of the Egyptian Space Agency, Mohamed El-Qousy, told the media that the decision to postpone the launch on Monday was due to weather conditions and the wind. The decision to launch the satellite on Tuesday came after intensive meetings between the French company Arianespace and a high-level Egyptian delegation at the launching base in the city of Kourou in French Guiana. The French company briefed the Egyptian delegation on the latest in technical preparations for the launch platform after tests on the operating systems were completed. Tiba 1 will cover all of Egypt and provide telecommunication and internet services to remote and isolated areas. El-Qousy has previously stated that the satellite will be operational within three months of its launch. In a statement issued later on Tuesday, the Egyptian cabinet said that the satellite represents a "cornerstone of the support for development projects." The cabinet hailed the efforts by the consortium of Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence, especially the drawing up of an ambitious timetable to build the satellite and overcome several obstacles. "It is the first Egyptian satellite orbital slot position at 35.5° East and aims to improve the telecommunication infrastructure to boost the public and commercial sectors in Egypt and several Arab and Nile basin countries," the statement added. The satellite is a civil and government telecommunication satellite, developed by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defence and Space as co-prime contractors, with Thales Alenia Space acting as the consortium’s lead partner. It will be owned and operated by the government of Egypt. Airbus Defence and Space supplied the platform and also assembled and tested the spacecraft. Thales Alenia Space designed and built the communications payload, which will provide broadband communications in ka band. Tiba 1 is the fourth satellite launched by Arianespace for Egypt. It will be deployed by Arianespace into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), subsequently transitioning to its operational orbital slot position at 35.5° East. Egypt became the first Arab country to put a telecommunications satellite into space with the launch of NileSat 101 in 1998. It was followed in 2000 by Nilesat 102, which helped distribute hundreds of satellite TV channels. In 2007, Egypt launched EgyptSat 1, which became the first Egyptian remote-sensing satellite, and was manufactured in cooperation between Egypt’s National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS) and Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye State Design Office. In February 2019, EgyptSat A, a remote-sensing satellite, was launched from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome, a spaceport in Kazakhstan leased to Russia. The satellite replaced the former satellite EgyptSat 2, which was launched in April 2014 and lost in February 2015, and is Egypt’s third remote-sensing satellite.

Egypt s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry stressed that the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories will undermine the two-state solution and lead to hatred and violence. The minister made his statements before the opening session of an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers, which kicked off in Cairo on Monday to discuss Washington’s changed policy on Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories. He reaffirmed that Egypt rejects all unilateral decisions on the final settlement of the Palestinian cause. Shoukry said Egypt’s stance on the settlements in the occupied territories is crystal clear, stressing that the settlements are illegal and contradict the international law and relevant resolutions, particularly the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016. The minister asserted that Egypt fully supports the Palestinian people in their endeavour to bring about fair and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, the Arab peace initiative and international resolutions on legitimacy to establish a Palestinian state whose capital is East Jerusalem. The meeting, chaired by Iraq and attended by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit, was held at the request of Palestine with the support of the member states to consider the “serious” developments in the US administration’s stance on Israel s illegal settlements built on occupied Arab lands.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has ordered continued efforts to achieve a comprehensive development in Sinai through carrying out agricultural projects. The president made the remarks Sunday during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and a host of ministers. Sisi instructed the bodies concerned to continue development efforts in Sinai to improve services offered to residents and provide more job opportunities, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said. The meeting tackled the implementation of a project to cultivate an area of 400,000 feddans, east of Suez Canal, the spokesman said. The meeting focused on two important axes with regard to Sinai development, namely water resources and infrastructure.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Saturday that the right to development is an inalienable human right, given its importance for improving people s living conditions. El-Sisi made his remark in an address during the 4th edition of the Africa Investment Forum 2019, which kicked off on Friday in the New Administrative Capital. Approaching a population of 1.2 billion, Africa provides a real investment opportunity, he said. The president applauded the wide participation of African states, global, regional and local investors, banks and financial institutions in the forum. "This wide participation demonstrates a genuine willingness to invest in Africa," El-Sisi saod, highlighting the continent s vast natural resources. Shedding light on ubiquitous development challenges in Africa, El-Sisi said that these challenges are not limited to Africa, neither do they provide any reason for concern, the present noted. We can take immediate steps to embark on trillions of dollars worth of investments in Africa, not just investments that are worth billions of dollars, El-Sisi said, urging all the forum participants to invest in the continent. "As state leaders, we are responsible for our peoples and for changing their lives for the better," he said. "We have the opportunity to do that," the president added. Confronting corruption While addressing a roundtable session of the Africa Investment Forum 2019 on the same day, he reiterated that Egypt will never tolerate corruption and corrupt people. The president stressed that Egypt confronts all forms of corruption through digitization and supporting anti-corruption agencies. He explained that poor management, education and weak political will are all forms of corruption, reaffirming that there is no interference in the affairs of anti-corruption institutions. El-Sisi pointed out that Egypt works to develop education quality and electricity through implementing digitization as soon as possible. He added that the state never allows to corrupt people to hold positions.

Egypt is set to launch its first-ever telecommunications satellite, TIBA- 1, on Friday, which officials say will be a major milestone that will see internet and telecom services cover the entire country. The communications spacecraft, developed by Airbus and France s Thales Alenia Space (TAS), will be key to enhancing the country s land telecom and internet networks, giving millions of people in remote and rural areas internet beamed down from space. Designed to remain in service in orbit for more than 15 years, TIBA-1 will be Egypt s first push into satellite-based internet services. There will be no such thing as "system is down," said Mohamed El-Qomsy, CEO of the Egyptian Space Agency. As Egypt presses ahead with efforts to promote e-payment, public electronic services and financial inclusion, expanding internet and telecom coverage to most of the population is crucial to pull off the country s digital transformation plans. "Once the [current land communications] system breaks down, there will be a second network to replace it. This means guaranteeing having a strong, secured communications network at all times," El-Qomsy said in TV comments. The satellite will also be key to boosting social development in the country of 100 million people, El-Qomsy said, citing promoting telelearning and telemedicine as an offset against under-resourced schools and hospitals, as well as offering strong telecom networks for the social insurance system. Weighing approximately 5,600 kg, TIBA-1 was flown to French Guiana last month ahead of its scheduled liftoff from Kourou on an Ariane 5. It has an electric power capability of higher than 9 kW. Airbus supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform and assembled and tested the spacecraft, while leading partner TAS designed and built the communications payload, featuring a dual mission in Ka-band for secure and broadband communications, Airbus said last month. TIBA-1 will occupy the upper passenger position in Ariane 5’s dual-payload configuration on the upcoming mission, launch company Arianespace said. The satellite is to be accompanied by co-passenger GX5, according to Arianespace. The satellite will help bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas, and will contribute to the development of all government sectors, the Egyptian cabinet said. The satellite will also offer internet and telecom services to some Nile Basin and North African countries, and is the first in a series of TIBA Sat satellites that Egypt is planning to launch.

The highest authority in Sunni Islam, Al-Azhar, has strongly condemned a US move that effectively supports Israel’s building of settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying the stance is a "blatant assault" on Palestinian rights. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday a shift in decades-long American policy on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, claiming that they "are not, per se, inconsistent with international law." The declaration was condemned by Palestinians, Arab governments and the European Union. Al-Azhar warned of "the serious repercussions of those decisions,” which it considers as "a green light for the Zionist entity to build more settlements and commit further violations and crimes against the occupied Palestinian state." The decision is "completely inconsistent with the provisions of international laws and the United Nations Charter that acknowledges the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory," Al-Azhar added in a statement on its official website. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel annexed in 1967, have long remained an obstacle to a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians want Israel to dismantle all its settlements in the West Bank, which they hope will become part of their future Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority has called on the Arab League to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the matter, and Ibrahim Melhem, a spokesman for the Palestinian government, said on Facebook that the cabinet was due to hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss the consequences of the US decision. The move by the Trump administration is the latest boost to Israel. Washington recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, moved the US embassy to the holy city in 2018, and recognised Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday at the Presidential Palace in Berlin. Spokesman of the Egyptian Presidency Bassam Rady said in a statement that during the meeting, President El-Sisi praised the recent advancement in Egyptian-German relations on all levels. According to Rady, President El-Sisi expressed Egypt s aspiration for strengthening the relations between the two countries, especially on the economic and commercial levels by maximising the volume of German investments in Egypt. President El-Sisi said that Germany is one of Egypt s most important partners in Europe, and that Germany currently has a chance to increase its presence in the Egyptian market and to take advantage of Egypt’s modern infrastructure and the improvements in the business climate. President El-Sisi said he appreciates that Germany returned the archaeological book Atlas Sadid to Egypt in October 2019. The book had been smuggled out of Egypt. The Egyptian president said that he looks forward to further cooperation between the two countries to fight the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage and artefacts. For his part, President Steinmeier praised the measures taken by Egypt in reforming the Egyptian economy, as well as the major national projects that are currently being implemented. The German president said that Germany is keen on supporting Egypt s development efforts in all fields through joint investments and exchanging expertise. He also praised Egypt s pivotal role in stabilising the Middle East and Africa, especially in the fight against illegal immigration and terrorism, as well as achieving interfaith coexistence and supporting peaceful resolutions for the regional crises. Spokesman Rady said in his statement that the two presidents also discussed a number of regional and international issues of common concern, particularly the Libyan and Syrian crises, as well as the Palestinian issue. According to Rady, both sides agreed on the importance of reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the case of Palestine in accordance with international laws and traditions.

The death toll from an electricity pylon collapse at the Seqil station in Osim village, Giza has risen to five after one of the injured died late on Sunday, according to the Egyptian prosecution. Four people were killed and three others were injured on Sunday after the electricity pylon collapsed, Egypt s Ministry of Health said in a statement. Seven ambulances arrived immediately after the accident to transport the injured to Osim Central and Imbaba hospitals. The injuries suffered fractures, cuts and bruises, said Khaled Mujahid, advisor to the minister of health and population and the ministry s official spokesman. Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed directed the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in Giza to provide all the necessary medical care for the injured, and to submit a detailed report on the cases of the injured and the medical procedures taken. Earlier, the Ministry of Electricity said that parts of the high-pressure electricity tower fell while being dismantled by a contractor. Some of the workers in the area were among the injured, the ministry added. The ministry added that the electrical network was not affected as the tower was old and unused.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi headed to Berlin on Sunday to attend the G20 Compact with Africa meetings, an initiative which aims to boost economic cooperation between Africa and G20 member states via joint projects that contribute to more growth in Africa. The G20 Compact with Africa was launched in 2017. Twelve African countries have joined the initiative: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. Egypt currently chairs the African Union. During his visit to Germany, El-Sisi will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss means to boost bilateral ties between the two countries and also exchange points of view on regional and international issues of mutual interest. The President will also meet with senior German businessmen within the framework of Egypt s efforts to encourage investment and boost comprehensive development efforts. Last week, the Egyptian President and the German Chancellor discussed in a phone call ways to end the crisis in Libya and bilateral issues.

Egypt s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi arrived Wednesday in the UAE on a two-day visit. President El-Sisi was received at the Abu Dhabi International Airport by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two leaders exchanged friendly talks on relations between the two countries. According to the Egyptian presidency , the current visit of the Egyptian President comes as part of the special and strategic relations between the two countries and how Egypt and Emirates are keen to coordinate continually regarding the challenges in the Middle East region currently. El-Sisi is accompanied in this visit by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Planning Minister Hala el Saeed and Head of the Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel. Emirati News Agency "WAM" stated that Emirati jet fighters escorted El-Sisi s plane after entering the UAE airspace to welcome him.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has issued a decree, No. 2731 of 2019, regarding amendments to the bylaws of Egypt s investment law. The new amendments include adding to the executive regulation two articles that compel local and private entities to submit all required data and information to tally Egypt s foreign direct investment (FDI) flows as well as indirect investment. According to the decree, local entities include ministries, public bodies and governorates, in addition to public legal persons able to accord licenses for enterprises to be established involving Egypt s Central Bank, the Egyptian Exchange, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), and special economic zones. Private entities include all enterprises established in Egypt, whatever legal umbrella they are working under, in addition to venture projects that are subject to Egypt s investment law and contain a foreign share.

Egyptian participants in the ‘Terrorism and Human Rights’ seminar held in the headquarters of Human Rights Council in Geneva sharply criticised the silence of the international community against the countries that support terrorism in Egypt and the Middle East. The participants pointed out that terrorism puts a lot of pressure on the political and economic conditions in Egypt and on the human rights situation. The seminar was organised by the Egyptian Rights Foundation (Huqoqiyat) in cooperation with the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies (ECSS) and the Women and Development Association in Alexandria. Said Abdel-Hafez, director of the Development and Human Rights Forum, said in his statement during the seminar that the human rights issue in Egypt is witnessing remarkable progress. Abdel-Hafez said that he is one of those who believe in the need to continue discussions with Egyptian institutions to urge them to improve human rights conditions in Egypt. Noha Bakr, a member of the advisory board of the ECSS, said in her statement that the reform process in Egypt is facing many challenges, most importantly terrorism. Bakr warned that thousands of jihadists have moved into Libya, and that there is a threat that they may move into Egypt, and thus it is important to intensify efforts to secure the Egyptian borders. She added that the state is trying to fight terrorism by altering extremist religious discourse through measures like modifying school curricula and establishing an observatory to track deviant fatwas and opinions on the internet in multiple languages. Ahmed Eliba, an expert at the security and defence programme at the ECSS, said that hundreds of tunnels in Sinai that were used to smuggle weapons and terrorists into Sinai have been destroyed. Eliba stressed that Egypt has succeeded in undermining terrorism and that it will continue eliminating what remains of the phenomenon. He also asserted that the strategic plan that has been used to deal with the situation in Sinai focuses on both development and combating terrorism, and that Egypt is respecting the rules of international law and human rights values. Dina El-Sarafi, a researcher at the Egyptian Centre For Economic Studies, said that extremism and terrorism are a threat to social security and safety, and that terrorism cannot be linked to any religion and cannot be justified in any way. She stressed that eliminating terrorism is a social issue and that facing it requires the participation of all the forces and institutions of society.

Heavy rains are expected in several parts of Egypt on Monday, including Halayeb and Shalateen, Marsa Alam, the Red Sea governorate, and South Sinai, according to Mahmoud Shahin, the head of the Egyptian Meteorological Authority s forecast centre. Shahin warned of heavy fog during the daytime in Cairo and the Nile Delta governorates, though he ruled out the possibility of rain in these areas over the coming 48 hours. Shahin advised people to start wearing winter clothes starting next month, as temperatures are expected to drop greatly during this time of the year. Heading into the winter, temperatures start to drop significantly in Egypt by the end of November. The winter season officially starts on 21 December. Temperature forecasts in highs and lows across Egypt on Monday are as follows: Cairo: 30 - 20 Alexandria: 27 - 21 Nile Delta: 29 - 19 North Sinai: 27 - 16 South Sinai: 31 - 24 Upper Egypt: 32 - 19

Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs Abu Bakr Hefni discussed with Tanzanian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Damas Ndumbaro preparations for the fourth session of the Egyptian-Tanzania joint committee meetings in the first quarter of 2020. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that the discussions are part of Hefni’s participation in the 18th meeting of Africa-Nordic foreign ministers held in Tanzania. They mulled the outcome of mutual visits of key officials of the two countries in 2019 and positive developments of growing bilateral ties in the recent years since the successful visit of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to Tanzania in 2017. Both diplomats touched upon the means to foster cooperation in the fields of agriculture, foodstuff production, animal and fish wealth, energy and medicine, in addition to increasing trade exchange and investments under Egypt’s current chairmanship of the African Union. Ndumbaro stressed that his country is keen to cement ties with Egypt in all fields, praising Cairo’s support for the plans of Tanzanian government through Egyptian companies operating in the African country.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed on Wednesday to reach a deal over the filling and operation of a giant hydropower dam on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile by 15 January, the US Treasury has said. Following talks in Washington mediated by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass to iron out differences over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the officials said the water ministers of the three countries would hold four technical meetings in Washington. The ministers "agreed to work toward completion of an agreement by January 15, 2020," a joint statement released by the Treasury said. The World Bank and the Treasury would “support and attend the meetings as observers” and the ministers will attend further meetings in the US capital on 9 December and 13 January to assess progress in their talks, the statement added. Cairo fears the massive $4 billion upstream project on Ethiopia s section of the river would drastically cut its water supply. Ethiopia says the dam, which is about 70 percent complete, is central to its economic development and its plan to be a regional power hub. “The ministers reaffirmed their joint commitment to reach a comprehensive, cooperative, adaptive, sustainable, and mutually beneficial agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and to establish a clear process for fulfilling that commitment in accordance with the 2015 Declaration of Principles,” the statement said. If the countries cannot reach a deal by January 15, they will refer the matter to their heads of state or government or seek further external mediation, under the terms of a 2015 cooperation deal signed between the three countries in Khartoum. “If an agreement is not reached by January 15, 2020, the foreign ministers agree that Article 10 of the 2015 Declaration of Principles will be invoked,” the statement said. "The foreign ministers reaffirmed the significance of the Nile to the development of the people of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, the importance of transboundary cooperation, and their shared interest in concluding an agreement”. Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump said talks he held with the officials of the three countries “went well.” Trump stepped in to help resolve the feud following a call by Egypt for a mediator after the latest round of talks between the three countries collapsed last month. Sudan has less at stake in the conflict. It looks to benefit from the power generated by the dam, which will also help reduce silt and sedimentation in the downstream country.