Egyptian president rejects use of Nile water for political gains, urges peaceful solutions to African crises

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday rejected the use of the Nile water for political gains and called for peaceful solutions to Africa’s conflicts, amid escalating tensions with Ethiopia.

Sisi made the remarks during a meeting with Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, the current African Union chairperson, on the sidelines of the Alamein Africa Forum in New Alamein city in northern Egypt, according to a presidency statement.

The Egyptian president reaffirmed his country’s commitment to coordinating with Burundi and supporting the African Union’s role in resolving conflicts and crises through peaceful means.

“Such efforts would help strengthen stability and fulfill African peoples’ aspirations for development and prosperity,” he said.

The two presidents also discussed developments concerning Nile water, with Sisi stressing the importance of cooperation among basin countries based on shared interests and avoiding harm to any country.

He reiterated “Egypt’s rejection of using the Nile water issue to achieve political gains.”

The meeting came amid a growing dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, following Ethiopia’s decision Thursday to sever diplomatic relations with Eritrea and an exchange of diplomatic expulsions between Cairo and Addis Ababa.

The African Union Commission called for calm among the three countries, although Cairo expressed reservations about its statement Saturday, according to remarks by an Egyptian official source.

Sisi also met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on the sidelines of the forum and discussed security and stability in the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea, the presidency said in a statement.

It said the two leaders agreed on the importance of continued coordination between Egypt, Somalia and other regional countries to strengthen regional security and safeguard the interests of their peoples.