World Bulletin / News Desk

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met on Thursday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on the sidelines of an African summit currently underway in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea.

The two men are expected to discuss bilateral relations during their meeting – the first between top-level government officials from the two countries in a year.

Following the meeting, the two foreign ministers are expected to brief the media on their discussions.

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia have recently soured over the latter's construction of a multibillion-dollar hydroelectric dam on the Nile River, Egypt's only source of water.

Ethiopia says the dam is necessary for its development, insisting the project won't impact Egypt's share of Nile water, which is based on a colonial-era water-sharing treaty, that Addis Ababa has never recognized.

Egypt, on the other hand, fears the dam will reduce its water supply and hurt local agriculture.

Ethiopian State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Berhane Gebre-Christos, told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that the meeting between al-Sisi and Desalegn had been decided during a visit to Cairo earlier this month by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom.

Al-Sisi is currently in Equatorial Guinea to lead the Egyptian delegation at an African summit that kicked off earlier Thursday in the oil-rich African country.

It is the first time for al-Sisi to meet with African leaders since his assumption of the presidency early this month. It is also the Egyptian president's first meeting with the Ethiopian prime minister.