Sisi urges proceeding with Ethiopia dam talks under principles

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had talks Saturday with Egyptian Ministers Sameh Shokry of Foreign Affairs and Hossam Eddin Moghazy of Water and Irrigation on the latest developments in the Ethiopian dam, the presidential spokesman said.

During the meeting, Sisi underlined the importance of proceeding with negotiations on the Ethiopian dam in line with the compromises he reached during several meetings with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as well as the Declaration of Principles on the Ethiopian renaissance dam signed between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

The talks also tackled the outcome of the two-day meeting of the Egypt-Sudan-Ethiopia national technical committee that wrapped up in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday.

The tripartite panel agreed to send suggestions and instructions to the Dutch and French consultant firms to wrap up their joint work.

The September 5 deadline is set by the technical committee on the dam to the two international consultancy firms to hand over the amended offer on the dam.

Ethiopia is the source of around 85% of Egypt's Nile's water mainly through rainfall in its highlands. Over 90% of Egyptians rely on water from the Nile's flows.