Joint PRESS Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mohamed Kamel Amr and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Jun 18, 2013)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mohamed Kamel Amr and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met in Addis Ababa on Tuesday 18 June 2013.

The two ministers reiterated their commitment to strengthen their bilateral relations and coordinate their efforts to reach an understanding regarding all outstanding issues between both countries in a manner of trust and openness building on the positive developments of their relations. Both ministers underlined their desire to deepen their dialogue on a range of challenges that face the African continent in general and the Nile Basin region in particular.

With regard to the Grand EthiopiaForeign Minister of Egypt, Mohamed Kamel Amr and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusn Renaissance Dam, both ministers agreed, as per the Terms of Reference of the International Panel of Experts, to immediately initiate consultations among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, on how to move forward with the implementation of its recommendations, including the recommended studies to be conducted. In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia welcomed the Egyptian initiative to begin consultations amongst the Water Resources and Foreign Ministers of the three countries, at the technical and political levels, to ensure the implementation of the above-mentioned recommendations.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister expressed Egypt’s concerns regarding the possible effects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Egypt’s water use. The Ethiopian Foreign Minister, on his part, assured his Egyptian counterpart that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which will be used for power generation purposes, is being built in a way that addresses Egypt’s water security concerns. In such context, both Ministers agreed to take into account the developmental interests of Ethiopia as well as the water security concerns of downstream countries.

Both Ministers, in a spirit of brotherly relations and mutual understanding, agreed to embark on consultations at the technical and political levels, with the participation of the Republic of the Sudan, to implement in a speedy manner the International Panel of Experts’ recommendations. In this context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia reiterated Ethiopia’s previous position, which is committed to a win-win approach as the basis for future cooperation.

At the end of their consultation, both sides agreed to exert the maximum effort to strengthen the bilateral relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Both ministers stressed the need to continue the dialogue and communication with each other in order to follow up on the outcome of this meeting. In this context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia accepted the invitation by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt to visit Cairo in the near future.

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Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia

Daniel Berhane

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