Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, currently in the US, had talks on Wednesday with Chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Lindsey Graham on strategic ties between the two sides. The talks also tackled the need for continued US support for Egypt to be able to confront security, political, economic and social challenges, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is in Washignton, D.C. to take part in mediation talks on Wednesday between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to break the stalemate in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopiian Renaissance Dam dam (GERD), which Addis Ababa is constructing on the Blue Nile. The Trump administration had invited the three nations to a meeting in the US capital to try to overcome the deadlock in the talks over GERD. The talks will be attended by World Bank President David Malpass. Shoukry posted Graham on the latest regional developments and Egypt's vision on means of handling the Middle East crises. He spelled out Egypt's efforts to realize stability in the region and confront what Cairo sees as the Turkish role in destabilizing the region. The talks also tackled the Ethiopian dam and Egyptian efforts to reach a deal taking into consideration interests of all parties. The meeting falls within the framework of a series of meetings which Shoukry held with US Congressmen. On Tuesday, Shoukry had talks with US Senator John Anthony Barrasso on means of promoting strategic ties between the two sides. The talks tackled the positive developments in Egypt in all domains in view of Egypt's efforts to turn into a regional energy hub in the East Mediterranean region. The talks also addressed a host of regional issues as well as Egypt's efforts to combat terror and realize regional stability. Shoukry underlined the importance of rallying up international efforts to confront terror-sponsor states.
