Egyptian FM kicks off regional tour to boost support in Ethiopia row

Al-Monitor Staff

Mar 9, 2020

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a meeting with foreign Ministers and officials from countries neighbouring Libya to discuss the conflict in Libya, in Algiers, Algeria January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina - RC2OLE9V6DIR — Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attends a meeting with foreign ministers and officials from countries neighboring Libya to discuss the conflict in Libya, in Algiers, Algeria, Jan. 23, 2020. — REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry kicked off a tour of seven Arab countries March 8, seeking support for his country’s long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the future of a massive hydropower project on the Nile.

Shoukry met with Jordan’s King Abdullah in the capital of Amman and delivered a letter from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He’s expected to meet with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Jordanian newspaper al-Ghad.

The foreign minister’s travel comes amid escalating tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia over Addis Ababa’s construction of a giant dam on the Blue Nile.

Ethiopia skipped the latest round of US-brokered negotiations in Washington. The Feb. 26 talks were intended to produce a final deal between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Egyptian FM kicks off regional tour to boost support in Ethiopia row

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry's seven-country tour comes amid escalating tensions between Cairo and Addis Ababa over construction of the Renaissance Dam.

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