Senegal’s President Macky Sall said finding a radical solution to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will be on top of the African Union’s (AU) priorities in 2022 during his country’s presidency of the grouping.
At a meeting with Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea in Dakar Saturday, Sall voiced Senegal’s full support to the Egyptian people’s eternal rights to their water share of the River Nile.
He said that Senegal highlights this support in the events hosted by the AU and the UN, a statement by the Egyptian Trade and Industry Ministry read.
Sall noted that prioritising a radical solution to the GERD crisis aims to preserve the historic rights of the Egyptian people. He affirmed that this is the right approach that all parties have to stick to.
During the meeting, Minister Gamea delivered a message from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to President Sall, hailing the level of coordination and continuous communication between the two countries on regional and international issues of mutual concern.
President Sisi, in the message, expressed Egypt’s aspiration to work with Senegal to enhance the bilateral relations in various fields with the aim of achieving prosperity of the two countries’ peoples, Gamea said.
President Sisi’s message affirmed Egypt’s aspiration that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect in January, would boost trade exchange between Egypt and the African states in general and Senegal in particular.
Sall expressed appreciation of the special relations binding Egypt and Senegal.
Sall said he looks forward to fostering joint work with Egypt to push forward their bilateral relations into broader prospects during the coming period, notably in the economic field.
The Senegalese president underscored his country’s keenness to enhance economic partnership with Egypt and benefit from the great Egyptian experience in numerous development and economic fields as well as the healthcare field, especially the treatment of Hepatitis C Virus patients.
He also called for enhancing trade and joint investments between the two countries’ private sectors.
Sall affirmed his preparedness to coordinate with the Egyptian side to launch direct sea and air navigation routes and cancel the need for entry visas to facilitate the entry of their investors to each of the two countries.
The Senegalese president praised Egypt’s pivotal role, during its presidency of the AU, in defending African issues on the international arena.
Sall referred to President Sisi’s visit to the capital Dakar in 2019, which reflected identical views between the two countries on various issues of mutual interest with the aim of elevating ties to new horizons.
