The meeting, held on the sidelines of the Invest in Uganda forum, comes amid growing momentum in bilateral relations, with both sides seeking to expand trade and investment ties across sectors such as infrastructure, energy, agriculture, water management, and pharmaceuticals.
Abdelatty said recent high-level exchanges had strengthened ties and called for building on the outcomes of the third round of joint ministerial consultations on foreign affairs and water resources held earlier this month to advance political and economic cooperation.
He stressed the importance of cooperation among Nile Basin countries to achieve mutual benefit, reiterating Egypt’s rejection of unilateral measures in the eastern Nile Basin and calling for adherence to consensus-based approaches.
Abdelatty also praised Uganda’s role in the Nile Basin Initiative’s (NBI) consultative process and efforts to restore inclusivity and advance joint development projects in line with international law.
The two sides also discussed ways to support stability and development across Africa, particularly in the Horn of Africa, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Great Lakes region. They agreed to enhance coordination at both bilateral and multilateral levels, the ministry added.
Egypt’s ties with Uganda are seen as strategically important in the Nile water file, given Kampala’s position as a key upstream state in the White Nile system and its role in regional water cooperation frameworks.
Uganda lies along the White Nile corridor through Lake Victoria, making it central to basin hydrology, even as Egypt’s most acute dispute remains with Ethiopia over the Blue Nile and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Maintaining close relations with Uganda allows Egypt to strengthen engagement with upstream countries and support more cooperative basin dynamics.
Kampala has also played a role in NBI processes, which Egypt views as a platform to restore consensus-based decision-making after divisions emerged between upstream and downstream states over water governance agreements.
Egyptian officials have increasingly emphasized development-driven cooperation, such as joint projects in irrigation, water management, and infrastructure, as a way to align interests and discourage unilateral measures.
More broadly, engagement with Uganda forms part of Egypt’s wider strategy to expand its diplomatic and economic presence in East Africa, ensuring that Nile-related discussions extend beyond the GERD dispute and reflect a broader framework of regional coordination and long-term stability.
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