News Release by State Information Service of Egypt
The issue of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam is linked to Egypt’s water security which is an integral part of Egypt’s national security, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Badr Abdel Atti said in a press conference on Thursday.
He asserted that the Ethiopian dam is an issue that cannot be compromised, waived or ignored at all.
All Egyptian institutions are working at both regional and international levels to explain the truth about the issue and warn against the drastic effects that will result from the establishment of the project, Abdel Atti added.
Turning to US and Western countries’ condemnation to a death sentence for 529 members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Minya, Abdel Atti said it is not acceptable from any internal or external entity to comment or interfere in decisions by Egypt’s judiciary.
In the meantime, Abdel Atti underlined the importance of implementing the Arab Summit’s decisions especially the one on activating an Arab agreement on combating terrorism.
He said that the ministry would work on convening a joint meeting of Arab foreign and justice ministers as soon as possible to expedite the implementation of the Arab anti-terror agreement.
Turning to the crisis with Qatar, Abdel Atti said that Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy was honest when he asserted that there is a deep wound and that Qatar’s problem is not only with Egypt but with most of the Arab countries.
As for the Egyptian-Sudanese relations regarding the Ethiopian dam, the spokesman said that there is a common agreement that the dam should not harm the interests of any party, highlighting the 1959 agreement between Egypt and Sudan in this regard.