New York – President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stressed that Egypt understands the Ethiopian desire to build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), however it is not based on real studies.
Speaking at the at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, the president said, “unfortunately the negotiations with our partners [in Ethiopia] is not successful so far.”
“The Nile water is a matter of life and an issue of existence for Egypt,” explained Al-Sisi.
Al-Sisi expressed his county’s hopes for an agreement that achieves a common interest for both parties.
Regarding the Palestinian cause, the president stressed importance of finding fair solution to the cause to which destabilises the Middle East.
“The Arabs are open to a fair and comprehensive peace plan in the region, and the Arab Peace Initiative remains on the table,” said Al-Sisi.
Al-Sisi called the UN to remove Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism after the latest positive updates in the country.
Regarding the situation in Yemen, the president said, “it is time to end the Yemeni conflict through a political solution and to stop non-Arab interventions that fuel the crisis.” He also called for political solutions to the conflicts in Libya and Syria.
He also added that Egypt is a founding member of the United Nations, the African Union, and a number of regional organisations such as the League of Arab States, and has always gave its efforts and contributions to the challenges facing the world.
The president noted that Egypt has launched an ambitious plan to develop the country through economic reform and counter terrorism.
In his speech to the summit, the United States President Donald Trump said that his country does not seek conflict with any other nation. “We desire peace, cooperation, and mutual gain with all. But I will never fail to defend America’s interests,” he said.
Regarding the situation in the Middle East, Trump noted that “no responsible government should subsidize Iran’s blood lust. As long as Iran’s menacing behaviour continues, sanctions will not be lifted. They will be tightened.”
“If you want freedom, take pride in your country. If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty. And if you want peace, love your nation,” said Trump.
He added, “wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first.”
China took a significant part of Trump’s speech as he said that “the American people are absolutely committed to restoring balance to our relationship with China…But as I have made very clear, I will not accept a bad deal for the American people.”
“The world fully expects the Chinese government to honour its binding treaty. How China chooses to handle the situation will say a great deal about its role in the world in the future,” he added.
The Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was the first speaker in the summit, wanted to send a message to the world that “the Amazon is not being devastated as media says” however he stressed that these rainforest needs to be open for business.
Bolsonaro said he has discussed the issue with some leaders of the indigenous Amazon tribes. He also criticised the international comments on his country’s actions towards the Amazon fire in August. He described some of these comments as “disrespectful” and “colonialist”, maybe meaning the comments of French President Emmanuel Macron who offered $20bn in aid for saving the Amazons.
“We cannot forget that the world needs to be fed. France and Germany use more than 50% of their territories for agricultural,” said Bolsonaro who explained that of 61% of his country’s territory is preserved regions and only 8% of its land is for food.
Attacking socialism in Latin America, the Brazilian far right leader said: “I come here before you today to introduce to you a new Brazil, a country that is now reemerging after coming from the brink of socialism.”
He added that his country was very close to socialism, which led to widespread corruption, high levels of crimes, and attacks on family values.
