Egyptian businessman Mohamed Abou El-Enein headed a number of Euro-Mediterranean Parliament members in a meeting with Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, president of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Bande said that "water is a human right," and that no country has the right to annul its water agreements with another or deprive it of its share of water, Abo El-Enin said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the latest round of tripartite negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the GERD ended without an agreement. Ethiopia rejected Egypt’s proposal on filling and operating the GERD, saying that it “puts Ethiopia's sovereignty in question.”

According to Abou El-Enein, "Bande stressed that Ethiopia is responsible for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis," and that negotiation is the key to solving the problem.

Abou El-Enein said that Bande has assured that solving the GERD crisis will be his first priority during the coming period, and that he will quickly intervene and contact Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in order to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Abou El-Enein said that he discussed with Bande President El-Sisi’s speech about the GERD crisis at the UN General Assembly, and warned Bande about the dangers of the crisis on the region and Addis Ababa’s obstinacy in dealing with the crisis.

Abou El-Enein said that he clarified to the president of the General Assembly that Egypt is not against building the GERD or Ethiopia’s development. However, Egypt has historical rights to the Nile water, which Egypt consider a national security issue and a matter of life and death. Abou El-Enin told Bande that Ethiopia is not respecting agreements signed with Egypt and Sudan.

Abou El-Enein assured Bande that President El-Sisi cherishes Africa and its people, and wants to achieve a big boom in Africa in order to transform it into a great and developed continent.