Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has formally accused Ethiopia of “politicising” the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River. Speaking during a joint news conference in Cairo with Mozambican Foreign Minister Manuela Lucas on Monday, Abdelatty emphasized that water security remains an “existential” issue and a non-negotiable national priority for Egypt.
Cairo maintains that Ethiopia has repeatedly engaged in unilateral measures regarding the dam, which disregard both international law and the necessity of prior coordination. Abdelatty asserted that as an upstream nation, Ethiopia cannot act independently, warning that its current management style has resulted in “highly negative repercussions.” According to the minister, recent water retention by Ethiopia without prior consultation has led to a decline in water levels in Sudan, directly impacting the availability of water for Sudanese communities.
While acknowledging Ethiopia's right to development, Abdelatty stressed that such projects must not cause harm to downstream nations, stating, “They have the right to development, and we have the right to life.” Egypt and Sudan have been locked in a long-standing dispute with Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the dam, which began construction in 2011 and was officially inaugurated in September 2025. Both Cairo and Khartoum have consistently pushed for a legally binding trilateral agreement to govern the dam's operations before its completion.
Conversely, Ethiopia maintains that the project does not require a binding agreement and insists that it has no intention of harming the interests of other countries. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the impasse have faced significant challenges, including a three-year suspension of negotiations that ended in 2023, followed by a subsequent stall in talks during 2024.
