Today, Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reiterated the need to reach a binding agreement on filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam within an appropriate time frame.
This came during a joint press conference between the Egyptian President and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, who is currently visiting Cairo, according to what was reported by the Egyptian News Agency.
Cairo and Khartoum exchange accusations with Addis Ababa of being responsible for the failure of the dam negotiations, sponsored by the African Union, within a negotiating track that began about 10 years ago, due to differences over filling and operation.
Al-Sisi said that in his talks with Kagame he discussed the developments of the Renaissance Dam file, and the importance of not harming any of the Nile Basin countries.
The Egyptian president announced his country's rejection of any unilateral measures that would prejudice the capabilities of peoples, especially those that depend on this river as a single tributary to life and development.
He stressed the need to reach a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the Renaissance Dam in an appropriate time frame, in a way that enhances regional security and stability.
"We agreed today to continue the political consultation and coordination that already exists between us, to advance bilateral cooperation and coordinate the two countries' positions on regional issues of common interest," Sisi said, according to the agency.
According to a statement by the Egyptian presidency, the bilateral meeting between the two presidents witnessed a discussion of what is related to the renaissance, as it was agreed to intensify coordination between the two countries during the coming period on this sensitive and vital issue.
Kagame, who arrived in Cairo on Saturday for an unannounced visit, affirmed Rwanda's keenness to develop these relations in various fields, especially trade and economic cooperation.
At the conclusion of the talks,
The two presidents witnessed the signing ceremony of a number of memoranda of understanding between the two countries in the fields of diplomatic training, youth, sports support, museums, information technology and the post, according to the same statement.
In the midst of tripartite negotiations that have been frozen for months, Egypt and Sudan are insisting on first reaching a tripartite agreement on filling and operating the dam to ensure the continued flow of their annual share of the Nile waters, but Ethiopia rejects this and affirms that its dam, which it started building about a decade ago, does not aim to harm anyone.