Egypt has reaffirmed that Red Sea security is the exclusive responsibility of its coastal states and no other countries can be involved in arrangements concerning the strategic waterway.
“Governance and security of the Red Sea are limited exclusively to the littoral states, as it is a strategic waterway directly linked to their national security,” an official source told state media.
Other countries, the source added, are “not permitted to participate in any arrangements or understandings concerning the Red Sea”.
The remark came after sources in Cairo briefed on Egypt’s policies said Cairo was prepared to work with African allies to help secure Ethiopia's commercial access to the Red Sea under its close supervision and provided that Addis Ababa abandons any ambitions to secure a military presence on the strategic waterway.
Egypt, which has more than 2,000km of Red Sea coastline, has long insisted that the Red Sea must exclusively belong to littoral states and other nations cannot have a permanent presence – such as ports or bases – on the waterway that links Europe, the Middle East, Asia and East Africa.
Together with Somalia and Turkey, Egypt has vehemently opposed an agreement in principle reached in 2024 between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland to allow Addis Ababa to turn 20km of coastline into a naval base.
Egypt – a nation of 108 million and one of the world's driest – also sees the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as an “existential threat”. It has for years sought to persuade Ethiopia to enter into a legally binding deal on the operation of the dam to ensure a fair distribution of water, especially during a prolonged drought.
Egypt depends on the Nile for almost all its fresh water needs.
The official source quoted by state media denied that Egypt is “prepared to grant Ethiopia maritime access to the Red Sea in exchange for Ethiopian flexibility on its position regarding the Ethiopian dam”.
The source insisted that Egypt’s stance on water security and the Ethiopian dam remains “firm and unchanged”.
“This position is based on adherence to international law, rejection of unilateral measures, preventing harm to Egypt’s water share, and preserving the full rights of downstream countries, in line with international legal principles.”
