"Illusions"... the first Egyptian response to Ethiopian statements regarding "control" of the Nile water flows

An official Egyptian source responded, on Sunday, to recent statements attributed to the Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy, Habtamu Etefa, during which he spoke about building additional dams on the Nile River and “controlling” water flows to the downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan. The responsible source said that these statements “represent an extension of the unilateral Ethiopian approach in flagrant violation of international law, and reflect Addis Ababa’s continued illusions about the possibility of imposing hegemony over a common international river and subjecting it to the will of one state,” according to what was reported by the Egyptian government website, Al-Ahram Gate.

The responsible source confirmed that “these statements once again reject the repeated Ethiopian claims that its movements aim at development without harming others, as explicitly announcing the pursuit of (controlling) the flows of an international river to the two downstream countries reveals an extremely dangerous approach that does not aim to achieve legitimate development, as much as it reflects an attempt to impose a fait accompli, monopolize a shared international water resource, and use the geographical location to threaten the water rights and interests of the two downstream countries, which is not recognized by international law, and Egypt will not allow it to be imposed as a fait accompli.” According to Al-Ahram Gate. The Egyptian source stressed in his statements that “the Nile River does not belong to a specific country,” and that what he described as “the illusions of control over it or unilateral control over its flows” are in stark contrast to the established rules of international law governing shared international rivers, foremost of which are non-harm, consultation, consensus, and cooperation in good faith, and respect for the rights and interests of the rest of the basin countries.

The responsible Egyptian source explained that Egypt had previously announced in its letters to the Security Council that it would take all measures guaranteed to it under international law, to protect the rights and capabilities of its people in the Nile River, stressing that the Egyptian state’s tools are multiple and complex and capable of penetrating and defending the interests of the Egyptian people in the Nile River, and that “Egypt will not accept and will not allow any parties to control the water flows of the two downstream countries,” according to the “Al-Ahram Gate” website. The Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy, Habtamu Etefa, spoke about the “Nile River Cooperative Framework Agreement,” which he said had entered into force a few days ago, explaining that it “will recognize the legal rights of all Nile Basin countries and make them subject to the fair distribution and sustainable use of water,” according to what was reported by the official Ethiopian “ENA” news agency.

The Ethiopian Minister of Water explained that the implementation of the agreement “will enable the establishment of the Nile River Basin Committee, which will be responsible for managing and protecting the Nile River for the benefit of all and serve as the cornerstone of cooperation,” according to what the “ENA” agency reported. Habtamu added that the agreement is “a common legal framework for the riparian countries, a testimony to their shared commitment to using the Nile River for the benefit of all, and affirms the right to use water resources equally and fairly.”

The Ethiopian Minister of Water indicated that “the agreement will correct the existing disparities in the use of the Nile water by ensuring the common resources of all Nile countries,” explaining that “the agreement will recognize the legal rights of all Nile Basin countries, and make them subject to the fair distribution and sustainable use of water, without violating the rights of others,” as he put it, noting that the agreement obligates everyone to protect the Nile and its environment, and to use water in a way that does not harm users in the future. The Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia built on the Blue Nile, is the focus of a long dispute between the three countries, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, after successive rounds of negotiations failed to reach a comprehensive agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam.

Ethiopia, the second largest country in terms of population on the African continent, with 120 million people, considers the $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, the most important tributary of the Nile River, to be essential and pivotal to its economic development ambitions. Work on it began in 2011, with power generation from the dam expected to eventually increase to 5,150 megawatts, from the 750 megawatts already produced by its active turbines. Egypt, which built the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River in the 1960s, fears that the Renaissance Dam will reduce its water supply during periods of drought and lead to the construction of other dams upstream.

Egypt has strongly opposed the construction of the dam from the beginning, arguing that it violates water treaties dating back to the British colonial era and poses an existential threat, as Egypt, with a population of about 108 million, depends on the Nile River for about 90% of its fresh water. Sudan has joined Egypt's calls to conclude legally binding agreements on filling and operating the dam, but it may also benefit from improved flood management and access to cheap energy.

Cairo's position was supported by US President Donald Trump during his first and second terms. Trump had said that "the situation is dangerous, and that Cairo may end up blowing up that dam," but his administration failed to reach an agreement on the project, as years of talks regarding it did not result in any agreement.