Sisi: Egypt not conspiring against Ethiopia

Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said that his country is not conspiring against Ethiopia nor is it supporting the Ethiopian opposition, official MENA news agency reported Thursday.

Sisi said in a speech to the Egyptian army on Thursday that he noticed the rumor that Egypt supports the Ethiopian opposition, adding that he is reiterating his previous stance when he was defense minister that Egypt wishes Ethiopians well.

Sisi said that when he assumed power, he told Ethiopia that "the two countries can turn a new leaf as Ethiopia seeks to preserve its interests and Egypt is working on protecting its historical right in the Nile water."

Egypt is neither conspiring against anyone nor pressuring any side through backing the opposition, he said.

Last week, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry summoned Egypt's ambassador to the country for discussions over a video circulated online purportedly showing "an Egyptian" sharing a stage with members of the rebel, outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).

These accusations were denied by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which said "the video could possibly be circulated by parties that seek to sow discord and drive a wedge between Egypt and Ethiopia."

The OLF is an Ethiopian organization established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, to promote self-determination for the Oromo people. It has been designated a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government.

Ethiopia declared on Sunday a six-month state of emergency over anticipated threats "posed by forces working in collaboration with foreign enemies to undermine the safety of the people and security and stability of the country," according to the Ethiopian News Agency.

Tension overshadowed Egypt-Ethiopia relations since the latter started in 2013 to divert a tributary of the River Nile as a preparatory step to build its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), amid Egyptian concerns that the dam may affect Egypt's 55.5 billion cubic meters annual share of the river water.

However, Egypt and its fellow downstream Nile Basin country Sudan gradually showed more understanding of Ethiopia's development aspirations and the Ethiopian side showed cooperation and commitment to abide by technical studies while building the dam.

On Sept. 20, Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia signed contracts with two consultancy offices to conduct further technical studies on the GERD.

Extending on an area of 1,800 square kilometers, the GERD is scheduled to be completed in three years at a cost of 4.7 billion U.S. dollars. Endit