CAIRO, Feb 24 (MENA) - Cairo hosted Monday a consultation meeting grouping the Egyptian and Sudanese ministers of irrigation and foreign affairs as well as technical experts.

The two sides discussed cooperation opportunities in the water sector and ways to leverage them.

In that respect, they agreed on joining forces to preserve the water rights of both states in alignment with the bilateral agreements, and international law.

They similarly agreed to coordinate stances on water issues at the regional and international levels.

There was congruence that the water security of each of Egypt and Sudan is intertwined.

Hence, the two countries called upon "all parties to abstain from any unilateral actions that would jeopardize their water interests."

They equally affirmed keenness on working under the Nile Basin Initiative to restore consensus among member states.

As a step forward, the two sides agreed on holding a high-level workshop to be attended by regional and international organizations concerned to exchange views on water issues and their impact on climate change and security in the Horn of Africa.

The consultations tackled the updates of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue, especially the perils of the unilateral filling of the dam’s reservoir in relation to its structure safety, with the two sides agreeing to boost efforts on the African and global levels to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.

However, they stressed that the GERD dispute must remain among Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia without dragging other Nile Basin countries to the matter. They asserted eagerness for reaching "a peaceful political solution" to this problem.

The discussions further took up potential joint development projects, precisely in the sectors of reconstruction, agriculture, power generation, and rehabilitating water networks destroyed by the Rapid Support Force (RSF) militia, with both sides confirming that seeking to carry out these projects is in fulfillment of the resolutions of the 16th meeting of the Arab Water Ministers Council.

In that framework, the Egyptian side pledged support to reconstructing the water sector in Sudan, and mobilizing necessary Arab support to carry out the relevant resolutions.

The two sides valued the outcomes of the extraordinary meeting of their permanent technical authority on Nile water – established in 1959 - that took place in Cairo on Sunday and whose recommendations focused on enhancing the consultation mechanism of the Nile Basin Initiative with non-member states.
(MENA)
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