A fifth session by the Egyptian-Ethiopian Joint Committee was held Saturday at Ethiopian Capital Addis Ababa, preparing for a meeting by foreign ministers of both countries on Monday.
The session was attended by representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, trade and industry, electricity and renewable energy, oil, education, higher education, civil aviation, tourism, agriculture and land reclamation, communications and information technology, and culture, as well as the National Council for Women, according to the State Information Service.
Tensions between the two countries flared after Addis Ababa began constructing its Renaissance Dam in 2011 on the Blue Nile stream.
Egypt fears the dam would affect its historic 55.5 billion cubic-meter share of the Nile water.
Ethiopia, however, insists that the dam will not harm Egyptian interests and stresses its right to build the dam for electricity generation and development purposes.
A series of meetings by officials from both countries late August managed to achieve relative understanding over how both countries could coordinate so as not to ensure the project would not harm Egypt’s water security.
