Ethiopian Ambassador Praises Ethio-Egyptian Relations

Addis Ababa August 16/2018 Ethiopian Ambassador to Egypt Taye Atske-Selassie has hailed bi-lateral relations between both countries, upon announcing on Wednesday that he will leave Cairo by the end of August. The ambassador has concluded 18 months of ambassadorship in Egypt, and will be flying to New York to represent Ethiopia in the United Nations, he said in a press conference. Taye stated that Egypt and Ethiopia are enjoying a great period of mutual cooperation, particularly concerning talks on Ethiopia’s ambitious Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) project, which Egypt feared would threaten its water flow from the Nile. Ethiopia appreciates the how important the river is to Egypt, Taye, pointing to the tripartite plan with Sudan to link the three countries’ infrastructure, and establish a joint fund. He added that the three have created a board of technical specialists to iron out any remaining disagreements. In the year and a half Taye has been ambassador in Cairo, there have been five presidential meetings between the three African nations. This includes a bilateral summit with new Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, where Taye claims that President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Premier Abiy Ahmed achieved a compromise “that harms neither country”.