Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab heads to Ethiopia on Sunday for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) summit. The summit, attended by 19 African countries, will tackle economic and business challenges and developments, a statement from Egypt's embassy in Addis Ababa said. COMESA is a free trade area, founded in 1994, extending from Libya in the north of the continent to Swaziland in the south. Egypt has been exerting efforts to strengthen its ties with Ethiopia amid negotiations over the Addis Ababa Grand Renaissance Dam which Egypt fears will affect its water supply. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has recently called for a new era of cooperation and development between Egypt and Ethiopia in a speech to the Ethiopian parliament in Addis Ababa. He also called on Egyptian businessmen he met in Addis Ababa during his visit to establish industrial zones in Ethiopia. Meanwhile, Egypt is expected to host a joint conference for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), East African Community (EAC) and COMESA in June in Sharm El-Sheikh city. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/126365.aspx
