Niger hailed on Friday Egypt's efforts in the past years to reach an agreement over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). During a meeting between Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the former asserted the importance of respecting the international law in such disputes. In his final stop of his African tour which started last week, Shoukry delivered a message from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to Issoufou concerning the last developments on GERD. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ahmed Hafez said Issoufou hailed Egypt's efforts in GERD negotiations, as the meeting tackled Egypt's attempts to reach a fair agreement that achieve the interests of the three concerned countries (Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia). Issoufou cited his country's Niger River, describing it as an example that shows the importance of coordination between concerned parties on any projects on a river, according to the statement. Tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia escalated after Addis Ababa withdrew from the final round of talks in Washington earlier this year,aiming at signing the final agreement over the rules of filling and operating GERD. The agreement, which was drafted by the US, was initiated by Egypt, while Ethiopia and Sudan both declined to sign it. Last week, Shoukry also visited Burundi, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Rwanda, to deliver messages from Al-Sisi about the recent developments on GERD. Earlier this month, Egypt sent messages to Gulf and European partners, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France, and the European Union, in an attempt to seek international support after the failure of Washington talks.
