Ethiopian FM arrives in Egypt for Sisi's inauguration

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia soured last year over Ethiopia's construction of a $6.4-billion hydroelectric dam on the upper reaches of the Nile River.

World Bulletin / News Desk

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom arrived in Cairo early Saturday, leading a high-level delegation to attend the inauguration of Egypt's president-elect Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.

The top Ethiopian diplomat and his accompanying delegation arrived aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane on the first visit to Egypt in a year, Cairo Airport sources said.

Al-Sisi, a former army chief, was declared the winner of Egypt's recent presidential election, in which he clinched almost 97 percent of the vote, according to Egypt's election commission.

Egypt's army-installed interim presidency has invited 22 countries – 16 of whom have already confirmed their attendance – to the inauguration ceremony in Cairo, according to a well-placed source.

A reliable Ethiopian source told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that he expects the Foreign Minister's visit to improve strained ties between the two countries.

Relations between Cairo and Addis Ababa soured last year over Ethiopia's construction of a $6.4-billion hydroelectric dam on the upper reaches of the Nile River.

The project has raised alarm bells in Egypt, which relies on the river for almost all of its water needs.

Water distribution among Nile Basin states has long been regulated by a colonial-era treaty that gives Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of river water. Ethiopia, for its part, says it has never recognized the treaty.