This week the African Union (AU) Summit witnessed the signing of important agreements among its members and the discussion of vital issues for the future of the continent. The meetings Egypt held on the peripheral of the summit were no less significant. Perhaps one of the most important meetings that Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi held was with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. Reiterating the importance of boosting bilateral relations, the two leaders emphasised the importance of widening the scope of cooperation in various fields on the bilateral as well as multilateral levels. Trilateral negotiations on the Renaissance Dam, which would include Sudan, topped the issues discussed during the meeting. Both leaders underlined they were monitoring the negotiations and were committed to the spirit of cooperation that have governed the talks. Desalegn accepted Al-Sisi's invitation to visit Egypt soon, however, no date was set. Egypt's envoy to Ethiopia and the AU, Abu Bakr Hanafi, said both countries are dealing with the dam under the framework of respecting Ethiopian sovereignty and Egypt's share of Nile water, respectively. The trust built between the two countries since President Al-Sisi came to office helped ease the crisis via high-level calls between the two countries, Hanafi added in statements to Egyptian journalists attending the summit. Tension has grown between Cairo and Addis Ababa in the last six years after construction on the dam started. Cairo has repeatedly expressed fears that the dam could reduce Egypt's water quota. Addis Ababa has repeatedly said the dam will not harm downstream countries Egypt and Sudan. In 2015, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed a declaration of principles in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on the dam project. They agreed to take all measures to avoid causing “real harm” to the others. In September last year, the three countries signed a contract with the French consultancy firms Artelia and BRL to conduct studies on the impact of the dam on Egypt and Sudan. Although the dam is nearly finished, the studies are not expected to be completed before six months. Hanafi predicted that relations between Ethiopia and Egypt will witness a major boost in the coming period especially given that both countries are non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. Al-Sisi also met Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on Tuesday 31 January. The meeting focussed on ways to boost bilateral relations in addition to the issues on the summit's agenda. He also met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the summit. The two leaders discussed recent Israeli violations in the Palestinian territories and efforts exerted to push the peace process forward. Al-Sisi also met Zambian President Edgar Lungu. The two discussed bilateral issues and boosting cooperation between the two counties in various fields as well as regional issues and challenges facing the continent. Moreover, Al-Sisi signed an African agreement at the opening session of the summit to counter corruption. His signature reflected Egypt's interest in achieving tangible progress in the field, a statement issued by the president said. Al-Sisi also met other African leaders including Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The meeting focussed on ways to foster economic and commercial cooperation between Egypt and Kenya. Al-Sisi is scheduled to visit Kenya soon for meetings expected to focus on the implementation of cooperation agreements and the fostering of bilateral relations. During Al-Sisi's meeting with CongoBrazzaville President Denis Sassou Nguesso on Sunday evening, they discussed bilateral relations as well as efforts to settle the Libyan crisis. On the second day of the summit, Al-Sisi presented the final report on the efforts conducted by Egypt during its two-year chairmanship of the council on climate change. The chairmanship was later handed over to Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba. The 28th AU ordinary summit opened on Monday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa under the theme “Harnessing Demographic Dividends through Investments in Youth”. At the summit Chad's Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat was elected commission chairman, replacing outgoing Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, a former South African minister and first female AU leader. The summit discussed the crisis in Libya and the final communiqué issued by the 10th ministerial meeting of neighbouring countries of Libya held last week in Cairo, the increasing threat of extremist groups especially in Somalia and Nigeria, establishing a free trade zone on the continent and administrative and institutional reforms of the AU. In a positive development at the summit, the members agree that Morocco return to the AU after a more than three-decade absence from the body. Morocco withdrew from the AU in 1984 because of the recognition of the AU member states of the Western Sahara. The summit was preceded by meetings at the level of foreign ministers. Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri met several of his counterparts including the Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra. The two discussed the situation in Libya as well as other issues on the AU summit agenda. Shoukri's meeting with his Ethiopian counterpart saw a commitment from both officials to bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral cooperation with Sudan. They re-emphasised that they were following the path of technical negotiations and the development of studies held on the impact of the Renaissance Dam on downstream countries. Shoukri also met his Nigerian and Ugandan counterparts Geoffrey Onyeama and Sam Kutesa to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues. Shoukri also held a meeting with his Mali counterpart Abdoulaye Diop. They discussed bilateral issues in addition to the agenda of the AU summit. Shoukri held separate meetings with Chadian, Burundi, Rwandan, Senegalese and Gabon counterparts on bilateral relations in addition to the proposed institutional reforms at the AU. In a relevant context, Al-Sisi headed the AU Committee on Climate Change on Tuesday. He reviewed a report on the work accomplished by the committee to confront climate change. During his speech the president said, “Our continent is the least among other continents affected by climax change yet it pays the highest bills for this change due to its need to adapt with the changes we are witnessing now.” Al-Sisi stressed the importance of “unifying our efforts to preserve our people's interests through the process of international negotiations”. According to Al-Sisi, “we managed to take two initiatives. The first was related to supporting the renewable energy project in Africa in order to generate 30 gegawatts from renewable resources by the year 2020, to be increased to 300 gegawatts by 2030. The second concerns supporting the needs of African countries in adapting themselves to climate change. I was honoured to announce the launching of these two initiatives in 2015. We hope that soon they will be implemented.”
