Egypt Daily News – The Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sewilam, stated that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was built, filled, and operated unilaterally, which constitutes a violation of international law and a fundamental breach of the Declaration of Principles signed in 2015.
He explained during an extraordinary meeting of the Nile Basin Initiative’s ministerial council in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, today that Egypt has always handled the Ethiopian dam issue with restraint and insisted on keeping the dispute within the trilateral framework between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, without expanding it to include all basin countries.
The minister repeatedly expressed Egypt’s objection to including a visit to the controversial Ethiopian dam (the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) in the program for “Nile Day,” which is held annually on February 22 to mark the founding of the Nile Basin Initiative.
He pointed out that Ethiopia’s decision to take advantage of its hosting of this regional meeting to include this visit in the agenda would drag the Nile Basin countries into the ongoing dispute over the Ethiopian dam, negatively impacting the unity of member states and threatening regional cooperation.
Sewilam stressed that Ethiopia has two options: either to make a decisive decision to uphold the spirit of unity and spare the basin unnecessary tensions or proceed with the visit and undermine the purpose of the gathering itself.
He emphasized that Egypt, in line with its firm commitment to the governing principles of the Nile Basin Initiative, asserts that maintaining the principle of consensus remains essential to ensuring the initiative’s continuity, achieving mutual benefits for all member states, and promoting regional stability based on dialogue and mutual respect.
The minister stated that the lives, culture, and future of 107 million Egyptians are deeply connected to the Nile River, describing it as not merely a waterway but a lifeline for the basin countries, supporting their economies, ensuring food security, and guaranteeing the well-being of their populations.
He underscored that the sustainable management of this shared resource is not just a necessity but an imperative responsibility for the long-term stability, prosperity, and security of the entire region.
Sewilam noted that Egypt has always been a key supporter of regional cooperation, highlighting its active role in founding the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) in 1999 and its significant financial, technical, and political contributions during the initiative’s first decade to strengthen its role as a vital platform for dialogue and cooperation among basin states. However, in 2010, Egypt was forced to suspend its participation in the initiative’s technical activities due to fundamental changes in the decision-making process.
He explained that the initiative moved away from the principle of consensus, which had been its cornerstone, and allowed the signing of an incomplete draft of the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) without full agreement among all states. This deepened divisions among the basin countries, negatively affecting regional cooperation and increasing the risk of tensions.
Sewilam praised the recent ministerial meeting’s decision to launch a consultative process involving seven basin countries—Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo—to discuss ways to move forward in a consensual manner. He regarded this step as a positive development toward fostering dialogue and finding common ground to restore consensus and regional cooperation.
The minister reaffirmed Egypt’s full commitment to supporting the consultative process and expressed hope that it would lead to an agreement among the concerned states, paving the way for Egypt to resume its participation in the initiative’s technical activities in the future once a unified vision is reached.
