CAIRO — With the objective of advancing his country's interests in the African continent, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi paid visits to Tanzania, Rwanda, Chad and Gabon on Aug. 14-17. The agenda included issues related to Egyptian national security, most prominently the Nile water dossier, and the military and technical support in countering terrorism in West Africa.

Sisi's visits carried messages from the Egyptian political administration, most notably among them that Egypt intends to provide Chad and Gabon with immeasurable military and security support, in terms of capacity building and export of military equipment. This is in addition to Egypt’s desire to address the water issue indirectly by prompting the upstream countries to resort to other energy sources, such as wind energy and solar energy, instead of the Nile waters to generate electricity. The president also expressed the Egyptian desire that the Nile waters be used without causing harm to Egyptian interests, stressing that in the eyes of Egypt, the Nile water issue is a matter of life or death that requires the dispute to be resolved.

Although legal differences over the Nile water management were not resolved during the Nile Basin Heads of State Summit held June 22 in Uganda, Egypt is carrying on with a policy of rapprochement and creation of mutual interests to bring African countries, especially the Nile basin countries, on its side.

An official at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is informed about the African dossier and accompanied Sisi on his African tour, told Al-Monitor, “Our plan centers on intensive political, diplomatic and technical efforts to revitalize strategic focal areas in East and West Africa, without relying on mediators who have strong ties with the continent’s countries, such as the Gulf countries.”