Sisi arrives in Ethiopia to address parliament - Al Arabiya News

Sisi arrives in Ethiopia to address parliament

Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi is welcomed by Ethiopian rime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn upon arriving in Addis Ababa (Reuters)

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By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Ethiopia on Monday for a two-day visit to the capital Addis Ababa, the state-owned MENA news agency reported.

He was received by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and will conduct bilateral talks with Ethiopian officials on Egyptian-Ethiopian relations.

Sisi is also set to address the Ethiopian parliament to ask for  recognition of Egypt’s right to a proportion of the Nile River waters.

Leaders from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia signed a declaration of principles on Monday relating to Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam on a tributary of the River Nile.’

Egypt, which relies almost exclusively on the River Nile for farming, industry and drinking water, has sought assurances that the dam will not significantly cut the river's flow to its rapidly growing population.

Earlier this week, Egypt declared it was “highly sensitive” toward any project to store the Nile’s water in upstream countries as it might reduce the country’s water supply, according to Egyptian irrigation minister Hossam Moghazi.

During his meeting with a Sudanese media delegation, Moghazi described Egypt’s current share of Nile water as already not enough to cover the country's needs.

With Egypt’s population expected to reach 150 million in 2050, the country will likely need an additional 21 billion cubic meters of water per year to meet its projected demands, Egypt's National Planning Institute has said.