Egypt, Ethiopia agree on ‘new chapter’ in ties

CAIRO – Addis Ababa has pledged to Egypt that Ethiopia’s construction of a controversial dam, which has strained ties between the two African countries, will not “harm Egyptian water interests”, the official news agency (Mena) reported Friday.

The pledge came at landmark talks held Thursday between Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on the sidelines of an African summit due in Equatorial Guinea.

The two leaders agreed on opening a “new chapter” in both countries’ ties based on “frankness, joint understanding and cooperation”, MENA said, quoting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri.

Shoukri and his Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom announced Friday in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, that Egypt has pledged to pursue “constructive dialogue” with Ethiopia that heeds the later’s development needs, according to the agency.

Al-Sissi and Desaleg also agreed to co-chair a bilateral cooperation commission to address all aspects of Egyptian-Ethiopian links, in a fresh sign of defusing tensions that have marred the two countries’ relations for more than a year.

Earlier this month, Al Sissi said in an inaugural speech that he would not allow the dispute over Ethiopia’s hydraulic dam being constructed on the Nile to “cause a crisis” between both countries or affect inter-African cooperation.

The Cairo-Addis Ababa ties deteriorated last year when Egypt’s then Islamist president Mohammad Mursi and other politicians threatened in a meeting, broadcast live on air, to bomb Ethiopia over its building of the $6.4 billion Renaissance Dam.

Last July, Al Sissi led the army’s ouster of Mursi following enormous street protests against his troubled one-year rule.

The Ethiopian dam has triggered wide fears in Egypt, which heavily relies on the Nile to cover water needs of its population of 85 million people.

Egypt’s annual quota of the Nile waters is estimated at 55.5 billion cubic metres. Water sharing among the 10 Nile Basin countries is regulated under a colonial-era treaty. Some Nile Basin countries have said the treaty is unfair.

Ethiopia has been urging the riparian countries to ratify the Comprehensive Framework Agreement to replace the 1959 treaty that gives Egypt and Sudan the share’s lion of the Nile waters. Six countries have already signed the 2010 pact amid Egyptian protests.

Al Sissi was Friday due to make a short visit Sudan, another Nile country that shares border with Egypt, state television reported.