Egypt's Sisi to host 5-state Arab summit
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is to host a five-nation Arab summit with the Ukraine war-related energy and food crises on the agenda, the government said.
Sisi, Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi and the kings of Jordan and Bahrain, Abdullah II and Hamad, respectively, are to hold the summit in El-Alamein, northwest of Cairo on the Mediterranean coast.
The five leaders met, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement, and "exchanged views on ways to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation" between their countries.
According to the official Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, the summit will address the issues of "energy and food security".
Jordan also confirmed that the "consultative summit" would take place.
Al-Ahram, citing a diplomatic source, said a dispute pitting Egypt and Sudan against Ethiopia over its mega-dam on the Blue Nile would also be up for discussion.
The massive $4.2 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), set to be the largest hydro-electric scheme in Africa, has been at the centre of a regional dispute ever since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011.
The wars in Yemen, Syria and Libya, and the Israel-Palestinian conflict are also set to be on the agenda.
Among the meeting's participants, Iraq is the only country not to recognise Israel.
