Egypt, Ethiopia FMs meet over dam-building dispute

CAIRO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian and Ethiopian foreign ministers discussed here on Wednesday the negotiations on Ethiopia's dam building on the shared Nile River, Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The talks between Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Ethiopian counterpart Workneh Gebeyehu came ahead of a joint meeting at the presidential level for the first time.

"Convening the committee at the presidential level will be a positive message for the public opinion in both countries," Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in the statement.

Ethiopia started the project of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in April 2011 when Egypt was suffering turmoil following an uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

Previous tripartite meetings of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the GERD were fruitless, as Ethiopia and Sudan expect massive benefits from the dam construction while Egypt sees it as a threat to its share of the Nile River water.

Egypt is concerned about its annual share of 55.5 billion cubic meters of the Nile River water amid the reservoir's rapid construction.

Last December, Egypt recommended the World Bank as a technical mediator in the issue of Ethiopia's dam building, a proposal that has not been accepted by Ethiopia and Sudan.

Shoukry's talks with Gebeyehu also covered the ongoing cooperation between the two countries in various fields as well as regional issues of mutual concern including the conflicts in Somalia and South Sudan. Enditem