Egyptian Foreign Minister and Minister of Immigration and Expatriate Affairs, Badr Abdelatty, announced that during his meeting with his Dutch counterpart, they discussed what he described as an “existential Egyptian issue,” namely the matter of water.
During a joint press conference held on Tuesday, with the Dutch Minister, Abdelatty explained that these actions—which Egypt has repeatedly warned against—have already led to the flooding of vast areas of land in Sudan, in addition to damaging many of the Nile floodplain lands in Egypt, Al-Shorouk reported.
He reiterated that what has occurred is a direct result of irresponsible Ethiopian policies, noting that the “unilateralism” in dealing with the Nile River proves the correctness of the Egyptian position. That position calls for the necessity of prior notification and full coordination with the downstream nations—Egypt and Sudan—before taking any measures concerning Nile waters.
Ethiopia sees the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as crucial for its economic development and electricity generation. However, Egypt and Sudan—the downstream nations—view the dam as an existential threat to their historical water shares and security, especially concerning the speed of the dam’s reservoir filling and its long-term operation.
For years, Egypt has called for a binding agreement that mandates prior notification and full coordination among all three countries before any major dam operations, such as water discharge or seasonal filling.
