Juba, South Sudan,
June 28, 2021 – The government of Egypt has taken the advantage of the ongoing meeting of foreign ministers from coalition countries in Rome to meet Antony Blinken, the United States Secretary, to discuss a range of issues with the Great Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) on top of the agenda.
A tweet from the government of Egypt says the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met his American counterpart to discuss a number of issues with the GERD a major subject of discussion.
“Side talk between Minister #Sameh_Shoukry and his American counterpart #Antony_Blinken on the sidelines of the Rome meetings… to tackle a number of files, on top of which is the #GERD,” the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Office tweeted Monday evening.
The details of their discussion were not immediately revealed.
Egypt has lately been sourcing allies to support its efforts to denounce the operation of the GERD. Cairo recently signed economic and military ties with five East African countries and carried joint military exercises with Sudan, its immediate ally against the GERD.
The foreign affairs minister has been on record saying Egypt had exhausted its diplomatic options to reach a consensus with Ethiopia as the Horn of African country remained adamant.
It is unclear whether the discussion with the U.S. entails a military agreement.
Mr. Shoukry met Blinken on the sideline of the foreign ministers meeting in the Italian capital. The meeting is aimed at eliminating terrorism.
