Sisi Stresses Importance of Reaching Legally Binding Agreement on GERD

Sisi Stresses Importance of Reaching Legally Binding Agreement on GERD

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as it appears in a satellite image taken on July 20 (AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi asserted the need to reach a legally binding agreement with Ethiopia before starting the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Sisi discussed the latest developments concerning GERD with the president of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh in a telephone call.

The two leaders agreed on the need to resolve the GERD dispute to avoid its negative impact on regional security and stability.

Egypt and Sudan have been negotiating with Ethiopia for almost 10 years to conclude a legal agreement regulating the filling and operation of the dam, which Addis Ababa built on the main tributary of the Nile to generate electric power.

Egypt fears the potential negative impact of GERD on the flow of its annual share of the Nile's 55.5 billion cubic meters of water, while Sudan warns that filling the dam without an agreement will damage its dams.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency, Bassam Rady, stated that both presidents discussed several issues on bilateral cooperation, in light of the bilateral and regional cooperation to achieve common interests and maintain security and stability, especially in the Horn of Africa and