King of Bahrain coming to town for talks + Algeria says GERD mediation going well
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is inviting Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to Cairo for talks in a letter passed along by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry during his meeting yesterday with King Hamad in Manama, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. Shoukry has been in Bahrain since Saturday and met with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani in the Bahraini capital to discuss further improving bilateral ties.
Algeria (of all countries) says its GERD intervention has elicited a positive response from Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, with Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune telling the Algerian press Sunday that diplomats have urged the countries to refrain from launching “heated responses” so as not to escalate the ongoing dispute, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The local press had picked up reports of Algeria’s potential involvement in resolving the GERD dispute earlier this month, after Ethiopia called on the country to play a role in correcting misconceptions by the Arab League over GERD. Ethiopia completed the second filling of GERD last month, despite protests from Egypt and Sudan.
Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel met yesterday with Israeli National Security Advisor-designate Eyal Hulata, who was here in town for a “quick visit,” Israeli news site YNet News reported. Details of the content of the talks remains scant, but it’s likely discussions included the past weekend’s rocket attacks between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel, the row between Israel and Iran over last week’s Gulf tanker attack, as well as the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.