Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stressed on Sunday that water is an existential issue for Egypt, asserting that the nation will neither tolerate infringements on its rights nor ignore the grave repercussions of such actions.
“If any new dams are built on the Nile, there will be a clear Egyptian response,” he warned.
Abdelatty added that the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has affirmed that Egypt will not relinquish its water rights, not even a single drop.
Abdelatty’s remarks came during his interview on the program “Al-Hekaya” (the story) with Amr Adib on MBC Masr.
He indicated that the state is proceeding on the issue within a comprehensive approach, with the full consensus of all state institutions. This approach involves utilizing all available tools – political, legal, diplomatic, commercial, economic or any other available means- the Foreign Minister said.
Abdelatty affirmed that the negotiation track with Ethiopia regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has reached a dead end after 13 years of negotiations.
He asserted that Egypt will uphold its water rights in accordance with international law in the event of any infringement, adding that the state maintains its prerogative not to reveal its course of action prematurely.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
