'Egypt doesn't conspire or fight against its brothers': President Sisi tells Sudan and Ethiopia
Ahram Online, , Monday 15 Jan 2018


Egypt is not willing to enter into a war with brotherly nations,President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi affirmed on Monday duringhis inauguration of several development projects in the country.

El-Sisi's statements come amidst recent rising tensions between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

"We will not enter a war. I tell this to our brothers in Ethiopia and Sudan: Egypt doesn’t conspire or interfere in the affairs of any country and is very keen on maintaining good relations between our nations," the president added.

"It is already enough what the region has already witnessed in the past years. We have a fixed policy of development, building and construction and nothing else," El-Sisi said.

"I say again, we will not enter a war against anybody, our country needs every pound," the Egyptian president added.

Sudan withdrew its ambassador from Cairo earlier this month after renewing its complaint to the United Nations Security Council over the Halayeb triangle region.

The Halayeb Triangle, located on Egypt's southern border with Sudan, has been a source of tension between the two countries since Sudan gained independence from joint British and Egyptian rule in 1956.

Both Cairo and Khartoum lay claim to the 20,580-square kilometer region, though Egypt exercises administrative control over it.

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia have been strained in recent months over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations.

Last November, negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia broke down over how to conduct technical studies of the dam's potential impact on downstream countries.

Egypt approved of the initial report by the European consultancy firms, though Ethiopia and Sudan demanded major amendments to the proposed studies.

The dam, situated near Ethiopia's border with Sudan, is slated for completion this year and expected to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity.

Ethiopia hopes to be able to export electricity generated by the dam, which will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa.

Cairo, however, has expressed concerns that the dam might reduce its share of Nile water.

Ethiopia maintains that the dam will not have any negative impact on Egypt or Sudan.

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