(AFP FILE PHOTO / ASHRAF SHAZLY)
Egypt is taking the course of efficiently resuming its regional role using diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Badr Abdelatty said.
In a statement released by the ministry on Monday, Abdelatty stated that the diplomatic course is reflected by Minister Nabil Fahmy’s schedule of foreign visits.
Fahmy’s first foreign visit was to Sudan, followed by South Sudan. He then visited Jordan, Ramallah then France, where he attended the Arab Peace Initiative meeting with United States Secretary of State John Kerry.
“Egypt’s participation in the United Nations’ General Assembly’s 68th ordinary session will reflect Egypt’s return to exercising its normal and axial role within a regional as well as international context,” the statement read.
Fahmy is scheduled to meet with his Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the sidelines of the GA session to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the effect of its construction on Egypt. Ghebreyesus is then expected to visit Cairo.
Both countries are handling the GERD through a political track, involving Egypt’s and Ethiopia’s foreign ministers, as well as a technical track, which involves the countries’ irrigation ministers, the statement read.
Abdelatty pointed out the establishment of a supreme committee for the Nile water, presided over by Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi.
“The Nile water issue is a matter of security which cannot be handled by a single committee,” Abdelatty said in the statement, adding that there is coordination regarding the issue.
Abdelatty also discussed the issue of Egyptian citizens currently detained in the United Arab Emirates. He stated that there are around 14 Egyptians referred to the Abu Dhabi Federal Supreme Court. The detainees are reportedly accused of setting up a Muslim Brotherhood cell aiming to topple the Emirati regime. Abdelatty said that the Egyptian embassy in the UAE is monitoring the court case and providing the detainees with humanitarian support.
Another group of Egyptians, alongside other nationals, are yet to be officially charged and prosecuted, Abdelatty said, adding that the embassy is also monitoring their situation.
The foreign ministry has intensified contacts with countries worldwide to demonstrate the state’s version of events since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July.
