Sisi says Egypt ‘will not stand idly by’ as Ethiopia mishandles Nile dam

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday accused Addis Ababa of causing harm to Egypt and Sudan through its lack of coordination in operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), stressing that his country “will not stand idly by” in the face of what is happening.

Several areas in Sudan have in recent days been hit by flooding caused by rising water levels in the Nile River, while adjacent lands along the river and its tributaries in Egypt have also been inundated for the same reason.

The Egyptian president’s remarks came in a recorded speech broadcast during the opening session of the eighth Cairo Water Week, which began on Sunday under the theme “Innovative Solutions for Climate Resilience and Water Sustainability,” according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

The multi-day conference brings together a wide range of ministers, decision-makers, international experts, and representatives from international organisations, the private sector, and civil society.

In his address, Sisi touched on the crisis surrounding Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam, saying, “Over the course of 14 years of arduous negotiations with the Ethiopian side, Egypt has pursued a fair diplomatic approach characterized by wisdom and seriousness. It has earnestly sought to reach a binding legal agreement on the Ethiopian dam, one that takes into consideration everyone’s interests and strikes a balance between rights and duties.”

He added: “Over these years, Egypt has presented numerous sound technical alternatives that meet Ethiopia’s stated goals and safeguard the interests of the two downstream countries.”

He went on to say: “However, these efforts have been met with intransigence that can only be explained by a lack of political will, and seeking to impose a fait accompli, driven by narrow political considerations far from actual development needs. This is in addition to false claims of sole sovereignty over the Nile River, while the established truth is that the Nile is the shared resource of all its riparian states and a collective resource that cannot be monopolised.”

Sisi reaffirmed that the Nile “is the shared resource of all its riparian states and a collective resource that cannot be monopolised.”

He noted that “since the start of the dam’s construction, it has been proven beyond doubt that our call for a binding legal agreement to regulate the dam’s operation was well-founded.”

The Egyptian president said that “in the past few days, Ethiopia, through its undisciplined management of the dam, has caused damage to the two downstream countries, due to irregular flows, which were released without any notification or coordination with the downstream countries,” referring to the flooding of lands and homes in Egypt and Sudan.

Sisi called on “the international community in general, and the African continent in particular, to confront such reckless actions by the Ethiopian administration and ensure the regulation of water release from the dam, in the event of drought and flooding, within the framework of the agreement sought by the two downstream countries.”

He stressed that “by opting for diplomacy and resorting to international institutions, mainly the United Nations, Egypt affirms that this choice was never a sign of weakness or retreat. It is rather an expression of a strong position, a mature vision, and a deep belief that dialogue is the best path, and cooperation the most effective way to achieve the interests of all Nile Basin countries, without exposing any of them to danger.”

On October 3, Egypt’s Ministry of Irrigation accused Addis Ababa of taking “reckless and irresponsible actions” in managing the dam, saying those actions “have caused harm to Sudan and pose a direct threat to Egyptian lives and territory.”

Sisi affirmed that “Egypt will not stand idly by in the face of the irresponsible approach being pursued by Ethiopia, and will take all necessary measures to protect its interests and water security.”

Disagreements remain between Egypt and Sudan on one side, and Ethiopia on the other, over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which began construction in 2011. Cairo and Khartoum are demanding a legally binding tripartite agreement on filling and operation before the project proceeds further.

Ethiopia, by contrast, maintains that no such agreement is necessary, and insists it does not intend to harm the interests of any other country, a position that led to negotiations being frozen for three years before resuming in 2023 and being suspended again in 2024.