El Sisi says Egypt won't compromise on share of Nile water

Egyptian leader delivers stern warning to Ethiopia over its recently completed dam

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's warning over Ethiopia's Nile project followed talks with visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, left, in Cairo. Photo: Egyptian Presidency

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Tuesday delivered a stern warning to Ethiopia over its giant Nile dam, saying it would be a "mistake" for anyone to think his country would compromise on its water rights.

Egypt and fellow downstream nation Sudan have been against the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) since construction began in 2011.

"Egypt fully rejects unilateral measures in the eastern Nile basin," Mr El Sisi said in a veiled reference to Ethiopia. "Anyone who thinks Egypt will compromise on its water rights is making a mistake," he said after talks in Cairo with Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's long-time President.

Egypt, the most populous Arab nation with 107 million people, fears the hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile, the larger tributary, could reduce its share of the river's water which provides almost all of its freshwater needs.

It has called the dam an existential threat, arguing that any decline in its water share will wipe out millions of farming jobs and ruin its delicate food balance.

With the dam's reservoir now full to capacity, Egypt's main concern is how much water Addis Ababa will allow to flow downstream during severe drought.

Sudan, for its part, fears that any structural damage to the dam would submerge large parts of the country. It has also complained that Addis Ababa was not sharing data on the dam's operation.

The Nile flowing through the Egyptian capital Cairo. Hamza Hendawi / The National

The two countries have engaged in years of fruitless negotiations with Ethiopia to reach a legally binding deal on the filling and operation of the dam.

Ethiopia, which last month announced the construction of the Gerd was complete, argues the dam is crucial to its development. It has also sought to reassure Egypt and Sudan that no harm would come to them as a result of the dam, which sits a short distance from the Sudanese border.

On Tuesday, Mr El Sisi said Egypt was aware the pressure it has been subjected to over its Nile water share was part of a larger campaign to "realise other objectives". He did elaborate.

Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was completed last month. AFP

Egypt and Sudan's combined share of the Nile's water – about 85 billion cubic metres a year – amounts to only 4 per cent of the total volume of the river and its tributaries, the Egyptian leader said.

"Egypt has no other source of water and gets very little rain," he said. "We will be giving up our lives if we compromise on our share. Those who live where it rains do not feel for those who get none."

The Gerd began producing power in 2022 and is expected ultimately to generate more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity – double Ethiopia’s current output and enough to make the Horn of Africa nation of 120 million people a net energy exporter.