Ethiopia blasts Egypt for escalating hostile rhetoric and rejecting dialogue over Nile waters, GERD
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdilaty called the Nile “the foundation” of Egypt’s security and said the country will no longer negotiate with Ethiopia over the dam.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, accusing senior Egyptian officials of escalating hostile rhetoric and “categorically rejecting dialogue” over the Nile waters and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The ministry said recent comments from Cairo are “manifestations of the failure of the Egyptian government to come to terms with the realities of the 21st century,” adding that some officials remain “steeped in colonial era mentality” and believe they “have a monopoly over the waters of the Nile.”
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The ministry criticised Egypt’s repeated invocation of colonial-era treaties, saying Addis Ababa “has no room to accommodate the vestiges of colonialism that Cairo is finding difficult to eschew.”
“They invoke colonial era treaties and harp on their supposed ‘historical rights’,” the Ministry said.
“This misguided approach and effort is a failure of imagination and leadership. It is time to retire this obsolete playbook that has never cowed Ethiopia.”
'Campaign of destabilisation'
It also accused Egypt of long-running efforts to destabilise the Horn of Africa, claiming Egyptian authorities “conduct a campaign of destabilisation… focused on but not limited to Ethiopia,” in pursuit of “pliant, weak and fragmented client states.”
Reiterating Ethiopia’s historical role in African liberation movements, the foreign ministry stressed that the country “has a right to utilise” the Abbay (Blue Nile), noting that the river originates in the Ethiopian highlands and contributes the majority of Nile waters.
“Fair, reasonable and equitable utilisation is a cardinal principle of international law,” the statement reads. “Ethiopia has no obligation to seek permission from anyone to use natural resources found within its borders.”
The ministry said Egypt’s refusal to engage meaningfully in negotiations over the GERD has now become overt, arguing that Cairo previously “pretended to negotiate while refusing to engage in any meaningful dialogue.”
“Egypt has rejected dialogue and is doubling down on its hostile rhetoric with a clear intention to orchestrate an escalation,” the Ministry said, calling the behaviour “irresponsible” and urging international actors to denounce it.
'Africa’s self-reliance and progress'
Emphasising that the GERD symbolises “Africa’s self-reliance and progress,” Ethiopia said cooperation remains the only viable path forward.
“What the world needs, what Africa needs, is more cooperation and dialogue, not confrontation and conflict,” the ministry stated.
“Ethiopia stands firm in assertion of its right to utilise the Abbay River… and its openness for win-win solutions based on principles of fairness and equity.”
Egypt has escalated its rhetoric since Ethiopia inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in September, repeatedly accusing Ethiopia of operating the dam in a “unilateral and hydrologically inconsistent” manner.
Cairo claims that abrupt and irregular water releases in recent weeks along the Blue Nile have forced it to open the Toshka spillway to maintain stability in its water system.
Ethiopia disputes claims
However, Ethiopia disputes these claims, saying the GERD has actually helped mitigate the severity of flooding.
“The flood in Sudan could be from White Nile. If GERD were not there, the magnitude could have been devastating,” Minister of Water and Energy Habtamu Itefa said, highlighting the dam’s role in regional water management. “We did not release the excess water.”
This week, Cairo again said the Nile remains a “core national interest.”
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdilaty described the Nile as “the foundation” of Egypt’s security. He also told BBC’s Focus on Africa that Egypt is no longer willing to enter negotiations with Ethiopia over the dam.
“Egypt’s position is firm: the Nile is a non-negotiable national interest, and there will be no more negotiations with Ethiopia moving forward,” Badr Abdilaty said.
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