KENYA SUPPORTS EGYPT'S POSITION IN ETHIOPIAN DAM RIFT

Cairo, EGYPT

Kenya supports Egypt’s “positive stance” on the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), President Uhuru Kenyatta told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in a phone call on Tuesday.

El-Sisi’s spokesman Bassam Rady said the president received a phone call from his Kenyan counterpart in which they exchanged developments on the dam after the collapse of Washington-mediated talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan last month. 

Kenyatta described the Egyptian stance as one that comes out of “sincere political will,” according to the Egyptian statement.

Addis Ababa did not attend the last round of US-sponsored talks on the dam in February, citing the need for more time for further domestic consultations.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya

Only Egypt has initialed the resulting agreement, drafted by the US, on the filling and operation of the dam, with Ethiopia and Sudan both declining to sign it.

Over the past weeks, Egyptian officials have delivered messages on developments related to the GERD to Gulf and European partners, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France and the European Union, in an attempt to seek support.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry began an African tour this week to garner further support on the matter.

Shoukry made stops in Burundi and South Africa and is set to visit Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Niger and Rwanda. - Africa