Ethiopian, Egyptian and Sudanese leaders signed Agreement on Declaration of Principles on GERD

Tigrai Online, March 23, 2015

Egyptian President Sisi, Sudanese Prsident Omar Al Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn pose for photo after signing Agreement on Declaration of Principles

The three leaders welcomed the "declaration of principles" agreement in speeches in Khartoum's Republican Palace, and watched a short film about the Grand Renaissance Dam that highlighted how it could benefit the region, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Mr Halemariam said he wanted to give an assurance that the dam would "not cause any harm to downstream countries", Reuters news agency reports.

Mr Sisi said the project remained a source of concern to Egypt.

"The Renaissance Dam project represents a source of development for the millions of Ethiopia's citizens through producing green and sustainable energy, but for their brothers living on the banks of that very Nile in Egypt, and who approximately equal them in numbers, it represents a source of concern and worry," he said.

From what the Egyptian President said after the meeting, we can safely conclude what they signed was not for his satisfaction, but we will know when we see what the detail of this agreement is.

Source: BBC - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32016763

In a related news President Al-Sisi has started his official state visit to Ethiopia. This is the first time an Egyptian head of state to visit Ethiopia in long time.