ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el- Sissi on Wednesday urged Ethiopia’s leaders to put aside “centuries of mistrust” and cooperate on sharing Nile River waters as Ethiopia presses ahead with the construction of a massive new dam.
El-Sissi, in Ethiopia on a three-day official visit, said in an address to Ethiopia’s parliament that Egypt hopes to continue to have access to the Nile’s waters without being threatened by other countries.
In his speech, which received applause from the Ethiopian legislators, el-Sissi said that no one “should ever feel secure about his future without the other, or to build his welfare at the expense of his brother.”
He continued: “Your Egyptian brothers also have the right, not only to development, but also the right to life itself and to live in safe haven on the banks of the River Nile, the river upon which they created an incessant civilization for thousands of years.”
The leaders of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia on Monday signed an initial agreement outlining principles by which they will cooperate to use the water fairly. Both el-Sissi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemarian Desalegn told a news conference in Addis Ababa on Tuesday that they have agreed to yearly talks aimed at resolving any questions over access to the Nile.