Nile Dam : Al-Sisi Warns Ethiopia Over Water Sharing

Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday sent a stern warning to Ethiopia over its management of water in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Speaking at a joint press conference in Cairo with visiting Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, Al-Sisi said the water issue had become “part of a broader campaign of pressure on Egypt to achieve other objectives.” He stressed that Egypt does not oppose development in Nile Basin countries but insisted such projects must not affect the volume of water reaching Egypt. “The best way to deal with the Nile Basin is to respect everyone’s interests,” he said. “We will remain vigilant and will take all measures guaranteed under international law to safeguard our people’s existential resources,” he vowed. Negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, under African Union mediation, have been stalled since April 2021, prompting Cairo to appeal to the UN Security Council for pressure on Addis Ababa. 
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 98% of its water, receives an annual quota of 55.5 billion cubic meters. It is already below the global water poverty line, with only 500 cubic meters per person annually, according to the Ministry of Irrigation. The Egyptian President noted that Egypt and Sudan together receive just 4% of the Nile Basin’s 1,600 billion cubic meters of water, amounting to 85 billion cubic meters. “This is the only source of life for the two downstream state...