Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry lauded as a “major achievement” the presidential statement issued by the UN Security Council on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

In a telephone interview with MBC Masr channel on Friday 01/10/2021, Shoukry said there are contacts with the Congolese presidency to put forward the vision of resuming negotiations.

He further noted that Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula has recently visited Egypt and presented some ideas, adding he is awaiting for a response to them.

Egypt is always ready to engage in negotiations based on what was stated in the UN Security Council’s statement, which called for reaching a legally-binding deal on the filling and operation of the Ethiopian dam within a short period of time.

A UNSC presidential statement is not legally-binding, although it is equal in tone to the council’s resolutions, which are only issued in the event of consensus among the UNSC’s 15 members and are considered binding.

Source: State Information Service Egypt