File- Shoukry was delivering a speech on Monday during a lecture titled "Foreign Policy of Egypt" at the Foreign Policy and United Nations Association of Austria (UNA-Austria)- press photo
CAIRO - 8 November 2019: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry returned home on Friday coming from Washington after he participated in meetings held with the foreign ministers of Sudan and Ethiopia to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue.
The meetings were also attended by United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in the presence of representatives for the World Bank.
During the meetings, the foreign minister said that Egypt seeks to reach a balanced agreement that enables Ethiopia to produce electricity from the dam without harming Egypt's water interests and rights, asserting that the Nile water is a matter of existence for Egypt.
Shoukry also pointed out that these meetings have yielded positive results that would help fix the path of negotiations.
Four urgent trilateral meetings will be held at the level of water resources ministers and with the participation of representatives from the US and World Bank to reach an agreement on filling and operating the dam within a period of two months and by 15 January 2020, Shoukry said.
During the period mentioned, Shoukry added that two meetings will be held in Washington at the invitation of US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin to assess the progress of negotiations
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