Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry agreed on Tuesday with US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien to bolster cooperation combating terrorism, and prevent the movement of terrorist fighters from Libya, a statement issued by the Egyptian ministry on Wednesday said. Shoukry and O'Brien agreed to strengthen coordination between the two countries in addressing Middle East issues, mainly the Syrian crisis and the conflict in Libya, during a meeting in Washington. Shoukry is visiting the US in order to approve the final agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which is being built on the Nile river. The pair stressed the need to intensify discussions and cooperation to reinforce security and stability across the African continent and completely eliminate terrorism, the statement read. Shoukry and O'Brien also discussed means to enhance bilateral relations, and recent developments in negotiations on the GERD and efforts by the US administration to hammer out an agreement between Ethiopia and the downstream countries of Egypt and Sudan. Egypt fears the mega project would diminish its water supplies from the Nile. This week will see the final round of talks reaching an agreement on filling and operating the dam, according to the hydrological conditions of the Blue Nile. Shoukry, along with the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel Aty held a coordination meeting chairing the Egyptian negotiating team as well as experts of international law and university professors, to consider the draft agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD, in light of the legal committees' negotiations held in Washington over the past two weeks. They also contacted internationally renowned legal experts during the coordination meeting to get their views and suggestions regarding the draft agreement, in addition to the legal working group at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During Washington's negotiations these past two weeks, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan agreed on an initial schedule for operating the GERD, they also agreed to mitigate the filling process of the dam during drought, sharing information, and addressing dam safety and pending studies on dam's environmental and social impacts.
