The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abul Gheit, said that Egypt is not seeking a clash with Nile Basin states over the distribution of water shares.
He delivered his statements during a meeting with his Ugandan and Ethiopian counterparts. The meeting was scheduled in anticipation of today’s African Union Summit to be held in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. President Mubarak delegated Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to represent Egypt at the event.
Discussion between the three foreign ministers focused on the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). “I explained to the Ugandan foreign minister that Egypt is not seeking a clash with Nile countries because the waters will keep flowing from south to north,” Abul Gheit revealed. The Ugandan minister stated to Abul Gheit that Uganda wants to used the water for power generation.
“I assured the minister that Egypt has no problem in assisting Uganda as far as the generation of electricity is concerned,” said Abul Gheit, stating that Egyptian companies presently have the capability to invest in hydroelectricity plants.
Also leading up to the summit, an Arab League official disclosed an Arab-African consensus to reject the arrest of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US-EU pressure on Chad, which hosted al-Bashir in a recent summit, was also discussed.
The chairman of the African Union, Bingu Wa Mutharika, criticized Luis Moreno Ocampo, ICC’s prosecutor, for issuing the arrest warrant against al-Bashir. “Ocampo is indifferent to the dire consequences of accusing al-Bashir of genocide against the citizens of Darfur,” said Mutharika. “He does not care whether his accusations delay peace in Sudan”.
The summit’s key speech will be delivered by the Secretary General of the Arab league, Amr Moussa.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
