(July 09, 2012, Egypt)--President Mohamed Morsy will visit
Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, following his visit to Saudi
Arabia on Wednesday, sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm. It will be his
second visit to a foreign country as president. Morsy will visit as the head of Egypt’s delegation at the African Summit on 15 and 16 July.
Ambassador Mona Omar, assistant foreign
minister for African affairs, stressed the importance of Morsy’s
participation in the next African Summit.
“President Morsy’s participation at the
summit is a message to Africa and the world, stating that Egypt, in the
era of the [second] presidency, intends to play an influential and
active role in all African issues,” the ambassador told Al-Masry
Al-Youm.
It will be the first time an Egyptian
president has participated in an African summit in Addis Ababa since a
failed assassination attempt on former President Hosni Mubarak in 1995,
and the first since the African Union was replaced by the Organization
of African Unity.
According to Omar, the president is
expected to hold bilateral meetings with many African leaders at the
summit, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. She pointed out that after the of the 25
January revolution, Zenawi announced the signing of the Entebbe
Agreement, which would govern the division of Nile water, would be
postponed until a new president is elected in Egypt. The agreement was
signed by six Nile Basin countries, but rejected by Egypt and Sudan.
Omar said the meeting between Morsy and
Zenawi is a sign of Cairo’s genuine desire to reach out to Addis Ababa
for closer cooperation in all fields. She said Cairo is seeking a
compromise with all Nile Basin countries for the benefit of everyone. (Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm)
Source: Egypt Independent
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