Shoukry discusses bilateral relations, GERD with Kenyan counterpart

Foreign minister expressed Egypt's aspiration to receive Kenyan president at earliest opportunity

Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met with his Kenyan counterpart Monica Goma on Tuesday. The two discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and regional issues of common concern.
The visit came as a part of a short African tour for Shoukry, that started on Monday, which aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Shoukry started the meeting by congratulating his Kenyan counterpart on taking office recently, stressing Egypt's keenness on continued coordination between the two countries on various regional and international issues. He stressed the importance of Egyptian-Kenyan relations to the stability of the Horn of Africa and the entire African continent.
The minister further expressed Egypt's aspiration to receive the Kenyan president at the earliest opportunity and also renewed Egypt's proposal to hold a joint foreign ministers' committee in Cairo in May.
Shoukry delivered a message from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The two ministers discussed developments related to the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and relations with the Nile Basin countries, as well as Egypt's keenness to achieve a consensus among all the Nile Basin states regarding completing the agreement of the Nile Basin Initiative in accordance with principles of international law.
The two ministers further discussed cooperation regarding the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, the situations in South Sudan and Somalia, and the importance of maintaining the African position in support of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
Shoukry's first stop was in South Sudan, where he signed with the South Sudanese minister for presidential affairs a memorandum of understanding to establish means for political consultation between the two countries.