LONDON: The US envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, on Monday had met with Egyptian government officials to discuss the north African country’s water security and a number of regional issues, the US embassy in Cairo said on Tuesday.Hammer held talks with Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Egyptian House of Representatives Karim Darwish to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, regional challenges across the Middle East and Africa, and the robust, strategic partnership between the US and Egypt.
Cairo has been seeking a deal for years over the GERD, which Egypt says could put at risk its scarce water supplies. The dam is under construction on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile and Ethiopia started filling the reservoir behind the dam two years ago.”Hammer’s visit helped advance our continued dialogue and ongoing partnership with Egypt,” the embassy said.The visit comes following the first ever meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of an Arab summit in the Saudi city of Jeddah on July 16. (With Reuters)