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Saudi Arabian Visit to Ethiopia Dam Tests Egyptian-Saudi Relations

December 21, 2016
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, center, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, left, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, right, hold hands after signing an agreement on sharing water from the Nile River, in Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, March 23, 2015. Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on Monday signed an initial agreement on sharing water from the Nile River that runs through the three countries, as Ethiopia constructs a massive new dam it hopes will help alleviate its electricity shortages. El-Sissi, al-Bashir and Desalegn welcomed the agreement in speeches in Khartoum’s Republican Palace on Monday. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)

Egyptian media lashed out at Saudi Arabia following a Saudi delegation’s visit to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Friday, increasing the already tensed relations between the two countries. The Saudi Arabian delegation was headed by Ahmed Al-Khateeb, senior advisor to the Saudi royal court and board chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), who met with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn in Addis Ababa on Thursday, according Ethiopia’s foreign ministry. Former Irrigation Minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam declared the visit to “an attempt to harm the interests of 92 million Egyptians and an added response to the ongoing conflicts between Egypt and the Kingdom.” Several Egyptian media outlets also criticized Saudi Arabia for this move. On Saturday, Egyptian news commentator Mohamed Ali Khayr warned Saudi Arabia to “review its policies before it can only blame itself for what ensues.” “Egypt is not obliged to continue to contain its reactions towards Saudi Arabia… any interference [by Saudi Arabia] in the GERD project implies a direct threat to Egypt’s national security,” Al Khayr continued. Ahmed Moussa, an Egyptian anchor, also warned Saudi Arabia that if they planned to invest in…


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