Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have discussed the Sudanese crisis, bilateral relations and Ethiopia's giant dam on the Blue Nile, the Egyptian presidency said.
Sisi welcomed Ahmed at the presidential palace in Cairo, the presidency added. The bilateral meeting on Wednesday evening happened ahead of a regional summit on Sudan's conflict.
Prime Minister Ahmed has also confirmed the holding the talks. Details of the discussion between the Egyptian and Ethiopian leaders were not immediately clear.
Egypt hosts a summit of Sudan's neighbours on Thursday to discuss ways to end a 12-week conflict between rival Sudanese military factions that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis in the region.
Dam controversy
Egypt and Ethiopia, Sudan's two largest neighbours, have been at odds in recent years over the construction of the huge hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, close to the border with Sudan.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, a tributary of the Nile River has also sparked regional controversy.
Egypt views the GERD as an existential threat to its water share from the Nile and wants Addis Ababa to reach a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.
Ethiopia sees the dam as crucial for its development process and denies any harm to the water share of Egypt and Sudan, two downstream countries.
In May, an Arab summit issued a resolution reiterating support for Egypt’s demand for reaching a binding agreement with Ethiopia on the filling and operation of the GERD.
It was not immediately clear whether the latest talks between leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia have yielded any agreements or resolutions.
