Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received a phone call from Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and reviewed the latest developments in the Horn of Africa, especially those pertaining to the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam file, a statement issued by Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said.
During the conversation over phone, Minister Shoukri noted that Egypt had hoped for the success of African Union efforts to manage the dam file but that negotiations had not yielded anything tangible and did not produce the desired results, emphasising that Egypt is looking forward to resuming negotiations under the chairmanship of Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, the AU’s current president.
Minister Shoukri stressed the need to reach a binding legal agreement before implementing the second phase of the filling, by launching a serious negotiation process, taking into account the interests of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
He also stressed that the Egyptian state has expressed its full political will to reach a just and balanced agreement that achieves Ethiopia’s goals and at the same time preserves Egypt’s rights and keeps the two downstream countries away from the dangers and damages of this dam, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Also yesterday, FM Shoukri received a phone call from Burkina Faso’s counterpart to discuss prospects for cooperation between the two countries as well as regional and continental issues of mutual interest.
Minister Shoukri congratulated his Burkinabe counterpart on his election as a member of parliament and for retaining the ministerial portfolio he has held since President Kabore came to power, spokesman Hafez said in a statement.
Minister Shoukri also affirmed Egypt’s keenness on consolidating cooperation with the Burkinable side in all fields such as security, health, agriculture and energy, referring in this regard to the integrated efforts and capacity-building assistance that Cairo provides through the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development.
The two ministers exchanged views on the latest developments at the level of the African continent and stressed the importance of maintaining coordination and consultation between them during the next phase.
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