Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Entebbe on Monday to discuss Egypt’s “existential” concerns over its water security and ways to boost bilateral ties, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.
Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sewilam, also attended the high-level meeting during the official visit to Uganda.
In a statement, the ministry said Abdelatty conveyed Egypt’s concerns regarding the Nile River and stressed the need to adhere to international law for shared water resources. He voiced Egypt’s rejection of “unilateral actions” in the eastern Nile Basin and affirmed that Cairo “will take all necessary measures under international law to protect its water security.”
“The waters of the Nile are an existential issue for Egypt,” Abdelatty told the Ugandan president.
The minister of water resources and irrigation reiterated that respect for international law on the Nile River is the basis for positive cooperation to achieve the common interest of all basin countries.
During the meeting, Abdelatty, who conveyed greetings from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, also called for the formation of a joint Egyptian-Ugandan business council to boost investment in sectors like construction, energy, and pharmaceuticals. He highlighted the potential for joint projects through a financing mechanism recently established by Egypt to support development in southern Nile Basin countries.
The officials also discussed regional security developments, including the situation in the Horn of Africa and counter-terrorism efforts.
For his part, President Museveni asked for his greetings to be passed to President Sisi and stressed his country’s keenness to enhance bilateral cooperation, the statement said.
Separately, Abdelatty and Sewilam also met with Ugandan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Henry Oryem Okello, in Kampala. In that meeting, they discussed similar issues of economic cooperation and regional security, and Abdelatty delivered a grant of agricultural equipment and light transport vehicles to a Ugandan non-governmental organisation that supports youth and small-scale farmers.
