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Thursday, 4 January 2018

MFA denies trying to exclude Sudan from GERD negotiations, responds to Israel passing Jerusalem Act

The Foreign Affairs Ministry denied news reports that Egypt was proposing excluding Sudan from Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations with Ethiopia. Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said “that the Egyptian proposal to invite the World Bank to participate as an impartial party in the GERD’s Tripartite National Committee (TNC) negotiations, has also been submitted to Sudan. He added that Egypt is awaiting the official response from both Ethiopia and Sudan on the proposal at the earliest convenience.”

Also from the Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday: The United Jerusalem Act violates international laws and resolutions about the status of the disputed city, Abu Zeid told the state news agency, according to a statement. The bill, which passed the Knesset on 2 January, aims to reaffirm Jerusalem’s position as an undivided capital of the state of Israel, preventing the Palestinians from making a claim for East Jerusalem as their capital in any future peace talks. Egypt said, however, that the newly-enacted legislation is an “obstacle” to the future of the peace process. The United Jerusalem Act was proposed in the Knesset after US President Donald Trump made an official declaration last month, recognizing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel and vowing to relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Separately, the Foreign Affairs Ministry launched its new website yesterday — a significant improvement over its previous iteration.

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