Tanzanian former PM: Egypt’s absence from African Union is strange, Tanzania has not witnessed such a high level visit from Egypt for several years

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CAIRO: The continued absence of Egypt from the African Union is strange and will affect the union’s role, given Egypt’s standing in Africa, said former Prime Minister of Tanzania Salim Ahmed Salim.

Salim, who is also the former head of the Organization of African Unity, considered during his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fhamy, Egypt’s visions in developing its relations with the African countries, and giving priority to the Nile Basin countries, according to a statement from the foreign ministry on Saturday.

The statement added that they discussed the significance of Nile water for Egyptians, who are totally dependent on it due to the absence of other sources, and the importance of cooperation with the basin countries to realize the common goals, without harming any single country.

The Egyptian FM will end his visit to Tanzanian on Saturday, with a meeting with the Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete, where Fahmy will give him a written message from interim President Adly Mansour regarding the Egyptian vision in boosting bilateral relations.

Fahmy began his visit to Tanzania on Thursday, for the purpose of boosting Egyptian-African relations, as well as finding ways to resolve the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis.

Tanzania has not witnessed such a high level visit from Egypt for several years, Former Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs Mona Omar told Youm7 on Friday.

It’s scheduled that from Tanzania, Fahmy will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and head Egypt’s delegation in the 17th summit of the Common Market for East and South Africa (COMESA) Trade Agreement, scheduled to take place Feb. 24 and 25, Omar added.

The Cairo Post

Additional reporting by Amira Abdel Salam and Amal Raslan.