Egypt’s water security is non-negotiable, El-Sisi warns
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment Sunday to safeguarding its water security, warning that Cairo will not accept unilateral steps by Ethiopia that threaten downstream supplies while maintaining that all Nile Basin nations have a right to develop.
El-Sisi's remarks in a recorded address broadcast at the opening of the ninth Cairo Water Week come amid renewed tensions over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). A few days earlier, on Oct.21, Egypt’s irrigation minister said Cairo had decided to stop negotiations after Ethiopia refused to sign what he described as a balanced agreement reached during US-hosted talks involving Egypt and Sudan.
El-Sissi said water issues remain a cornerstone of Egyptian foreign policy and should drive regional cooperation rather than serve as a political tool to stoke conflict. The Nile has been central to Egypt’s stability, development and prosperity and will remain its lifeline, El-Sisi added.
The Nile serves as Egypt’s primary lifeline, supplying more than 98% of the arid nation’s renewable water resources.
“Every country has the right to develop and benefit from its natural resources,” El-Sisi said, “provided it acts responsibly and does not harm other countries or undermine their water security.”
The fact that a river’s headwaters lie within one country’s territory, he added, does not give that country the right to exercise exclusive control over a resource shared by multiple peoples.
He said advance notification, the exchange of studies and consultation are practical tools that can help secure project financing, build trust and protect everyone’s interests, rather than obstruct development or impose guardianship over any country.
Two days before El-Sisi’s remarks, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the Megech irrigation dam near Gondar, with a storage capacity of 185 million cubic meters. The 185 million-cubic-meter reservoir, under construction since 2015, sits on a tributary of Lake Tana, the Blue Nile’s main source.
Egypt’s irrigation ministry said the Megech dam would not disrupt Egypt’s share of water, describing it as dwarfed by the GERD in scale and flow impact. Even so, Cairo opposes any unilateral Ethiopian projects without joint upstream-downstream impact assessments.
In his address Sunday, El-Sisi urged Ethiopia to cooperate on water management, saying Egypt’s hand remains extended to its neighbors in pursuit of cooperation based on international law, consultation, coordination, good neighborly relations, and the principle of avoiding harm.
“We are one family united by the Nile, and our shared interests are greater than our differences,” he said. “The basin has abundant resources and potential that, if properly managed and developed, could meet the needs and aspirations of its peoples.”
The dispute resurfaced in August, following statements by Ethiopia’s water and energy minister about plans to build additional dams on the Nile to make greater use of its waters and increase electricity production.
Cairo viewed the remarks as an extension of what it describes as Ethiopia’s unilateral approach to managing the river’s resources, while Addis Ababa maintains its right to use water resources within its territory.
In October 2025, El-Sisi said in a recorded address to the opening of the eighth Cairo Water Week that Egypt would not stand idly by in the face of what he called Ethiopia’s irresponsible approach to the Nile and would take all necessary measures to protect its interests and water security.
He said Egypt had faced intransigence during 14 years of arduous negotiations with Ethiopia, attributing it to a lack of political will and an attempt to impose a fait accompli, alongside what he described as false claims of exclusive sovereignty over the Nile. The river, he said, is a shared resource belonging to all countries along its banks and cannot be monopolized.
The Ethiopian government responded at the time by categorically rejecting El-Sisi’s accusation, asserting its sovereign right to use its water resources and stressing that the Nile belongs to no single country but is a shared resource that should foster cooperation rather than threats.
On Sept. 9, 2025, Ethiopia officially inaugurated GERD, 14 years after construction began and following 13 years of negotiations with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan that failed to produce a fair, legally binding agreement on filling and operating the dam.
That same day, Cairo lodged a complaint with the UN Security Council, describing Ethiopia’s move as unilateral and contrary to international law. Egypt said it reserved all rights to take measures permitted under international law and the UN Charter, warning that it had options if Ethiopia continued to impose a fait accompli.
In March 2024, Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam acknowledged that GERD had affected Egypt but said the country had managed to cope at some cost. He also cited the Declaration of Principles, arguing that if the dam caused harm to downstream countries, compensation would be due and Egypt would demand it one day.