Egypt and Sudan signed a military cooperation agreement, and the two sides also stressed the need to reach an agreement with Ethiopia on the Renaissance Dam before the second mobilization.
Which protects the interests of the three peoples.
The Chiefs of Staff of the Sudanese and Egyptian armies signed a military cooperation agreement covering the areas of training and border security, at the conclusion of the visit of the Egyptian Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid, to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
At the same time, the two countries stressed the importance of reaching a binding legal agreement regarding the mobilization and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, in a manner that achieves the interests of the three countries, preserves the water rights of Egypt and Sudan, and limits what they described as damaging this project to the two downstream countries.
The two parties called on Ethiopia to show goodwill and to engage in an effective negotiation process in order to reach this agreement.
Egypt and Sudan affirmed adherence to Sudan’s proposal to form an international quartet led by the current president of the African Union, and includes the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, to mediate and launch negotiations at the earliest possible opportunity.
The two countries also expressed concern about the stalled negotiations that were sponsored by the African Union, and stressed that Ethiopia's implementation of the second phase of unilaterally mobilizing the dam would pose a direct threat to the water security of the two countries.
The Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maryam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, said in a press conference in Cairo with her Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry that the suspension of talks on the Renaissance Dam puts us in front of great dangers, and that the second mobilization of the Renaissance Dam by Ethiopia threatens the lives of 20 million Sudanese.
The Minister affirmed her country's commitment to reaching an agreement with clear legal frameworks regarding the mobilization and operation of the Renaissance Dam, stressing the importance of resolving all files related to the Renaissance Dam before the start of the second mobilization, and expressed her hope for Ethiopia's return to negotiations in a serious manner.
She said that they are open to making the Sudanese-Ethiopian border a zone of cooperation, but after the borders are demarcated, and that the border issue can be resolved by diplomatic means.
For his part, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Cairo continues to try to reach an agreement on the Renaissance Dam that protects the interests of the three peoples.
He also stressed that the two countries have all the frameworks for strengthening relations, especially in the economic field.