CAIRO, August 26, 2018 – Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service (GIS) Major General Abbas Kamel are due to travel to Addis Ababa on Monday to convey a verbal message from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The visit is aimed at following up the course of Egyptian-Ethiopian relations and ways of consolidating these relations as well as developments related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said. This, the spokesman added in a statement, comes within the framework of efforts exerted to implement the Declaration of Principles agreement signed in 2015 and the outcome of the latest nine-way meeting which was held in Addis Ababa in May this year. The meeting with the prime minister is also expected to include a review of the developments of the establishment of a tripartite infrastructure fund for Egypt, Ethiopia and the Sudan in a way that contributes to effectuating co-operation in carrying out developmental projects, Abu Zeid said. The talks, he added, will also include a review of regional developments in the Horn of Africa region as well as ways of supporting peace and stability in this vital and key region to Egypt. Spokesman Abu Zeid also explained that the Egyptian high-powered delegation's visit to Addis aims to push forward the course of negotiations related to the GERD but will not be limited to a discussion of this file alone. Spokesman Abu Zeid also denied the existence of a link between the Egyptian delegation's visit and the latest Ethiopian statements. He explained that the visit was planned in accordance with a political path and diplomatic contacts between the two countries. "We are moving in the right path and we are aware of the importance of the time factor and the necessity of reaching a full and comprehensive agreement on the Renaissance Dam in the shortest time possible," Spokesman Abu Zeid said in his statements. In press statements reported by the Reporter Ethiopia, Ethiopian PM Ahmed said that he had visited GERD two months earlier to review the process that had been made so far and found out that electromechanical works contracted to the Metals and Engineering Corporation (MetEC) is lagging the project far behind.
