Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with Chinese permanent representative on Tuesday, July 6,2021. Photo courtesy of Egypt foreign ministry Facebook page
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry continued his meetings on Tuesday in New York with UN officials and met with the permanent representatives of Russia and China, who he discussed the latest developments of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) with, said the Egyptian foreign ministry.
Russia and China are permanent members of the UN Security Council.
According to the ministry, Shoukry asserted in the meeting Egypt’s stance concerning the GERD dispute and the necessity to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the Ethiopian Dam.
Shoukry and his Sudanese counterpart Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi are currently in New York preparing for the UN Security Council’s session on the GERD next Thursday.
On Monday evening Shoukry met with his Sudanese counterpart Mariam Al-Sadiq met in New York to coordinate their efforts before the UNSC session.
Shoukry and Al-Sadiq voiced their “categorical” rejection of Ethiopia’s announcement, saying it reveals Ethiopia's “ill” intention to impose a fait accompli on downstream countries and indifference to the foreseeable negative impacts and damages, according to a statement released by the Egyptian foreign ministry on Tuesday.
Both ministers also said the unilateral filling represents a “blatant” violation of the Declaration of Principles (DoPs) Agreement and a violation of international laws and norms governing the exploitation of transboundary river resources, the statement added.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting with Russian permanent representative on Tuesday, July 6,2021. Photo courtesy of Egypt foreign ministry Facebook page
The foreign minister held a series of meetings on Monday with ambassadors of the Arab Committee concerning the GERD developments file where they discussed coordination at the Security Council.
He also discussed the latest developments with the permanent representatives of the Africa Group to the UN Security Council, as well as with permanent representatives of Estonia, Ireland, Mexico and Norway, currently non-permanent members of the Security Council.
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