Cairo has accused Ethiopia of “politicising” the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River through unilateral measures that have affected Egypt and Sudan.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made the remarks during a joint news conference in Cairo with Mozambican Foreign Minister Manuela Lucas on Monday.
Abdelatty called water security an “existential” issue and a national priority for Egypt, saying it “cannot be compromised.”
He said Egypt has repeatedly warned that Ethiopia developed the dam through unilateral measures that disregard international law and the principle of prior coordination, adding that “Ethiopia, as an upstream country, cannot act unilaterally.”
He accused Ethiopia of managing the dam in a “politicised” manner without prior coordination with the two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, warning that such actions have had “highly negative repercussions.”
Decrease in water level
According to Abdelatty, Ethiopia’s recent retention of water without prior coordination caused water levels in Sudan to decline in recent days, affecting water availability for Sudanese communities.
He stressed that Egypt is “not opposed to Ethiopia’s right to development, provided it does not cause harm to Sudan or Egypt,” adding: “They have the right to development, and we have the right to life.”
Egypt and Sudan have long been at odds with Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the GERD, which Ethiopia began constructing in 2011 and officially inaugurated in September 2025.
Cairo and Khartoum have called for a legally binding trilateral agreement governing the filling and operation of the dam before the process is completed.
Ethiopia, however, maintains that the project does not require a binding agreement and insists it does not intend to harm the interests of any other country.
The dispute led to a three-year suspension of negotiations before talks resumed in 2023, only to stall again in 2024.
