ADDIS ABABA - An Egyptian diplomatic and popular delegation currently visiting Ethiopia is seeking to get bilateral ties back on track, through mending the relations between the two fellow Nile Basin countries after a months-long fallout over the sharing of the Nile River waters. The delegation includes three presidential hopefuls and some prominent Egyptian political leaders, as well as representatives of the young revolutionaries who toppled the Mubarak regime. Egypt has neglected relations with Africa for about three decades, el-Sayyed el-Badawi, the head of Egypt's Al-Wafd Party and a member of the delegation, said in Addis Ababa. “Historically, Ethiopia is a friendly state, but bilateral relations have been strained since the failed attempt to assassinate Mubarak in Addis Ababa in 1995,” he added. Economy and investments will feature high on the agenda of the talks with the Ethiopian officials, since “we have neglected economic co-operation with the Nile Basin countries. Permanent interests secure permanent relations”, el-Badawi stressed. “We will seek more information about the Millennium Dam and stress that we do not oppose any water projects in Ethiopia, as long as they do not cause harm to the estuary states.” Ethiopia said in late March it planed to build a huge dam on the Nile, despite a long-running row with Egypt over use of the river and concerns that the dispute might spark a war. The ten countries through which the river passes have for more than a decade been locked in often bitter talks to renegotiate colonial-era treaties that gave Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of the river's waters.
