Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has confirmed that he met with international donors while attending the African Union Summit in Kampala. During these meetings, Abul Gheit explained the Egyptian stance on disagreements over the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) to the donors, asking them to help African countries find a resolution. According to Abul Gheit, further negotiations are needed in order to reach a settlement. Meanwhile, Mona Omar, Assistant Foreign Minister for African affairs, said that so far no meetings between Egypt and NBI partner countries have been officially scheduled to take place during the African Union Summit, but that informal meetings are common. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry went on to deny that Egypt submitted a draft resolution calling for protecting the rights of homosexuals. Omar asserted that, as an Islamic country, Egypt would never take such a stance, adding that the source of the rumors is unknown. Preparatory meetings leading up to the African Union Summit also addressed disagreements between some African countries, led by Nigeria and South Africa, concerning the expansion of African membership to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Informed sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the two countries are pressuring other African countries to demand two permanent seats on the UNSC, and the right to veto UN resolutions. The same source said that the Nigeria and South Africa are pushing for such demands to be met before the transfer of the African Union presidency to another state in 2011. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
