CAIRO – 28 September 2025: Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty accused Ethiopia of “endangering the lives of millions in the two downstream states” of Egypt and Sudan through unilateral actions when it comes to Blue Nile waters.
As he addressed the high-level debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Saturday, Abdelatty condemned Ethiopia’s “destabilizing unilateral policies” in the Horn of Africa and the Eastern Nile Basin.
He highlighted Ethiopia’s finalization of construction of its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) unilaterally, imposing a fait accompli on the downstream states.
“Egypt has long sought to strengthen cooperation among the Nile Basin states and to support development in those brotherly nations with which we share the Nile, a source of prosperity and growth for us all,” the foreign minister remarked.
“In contrast, Ethiopia has chosen to violate international law and impose a fait accompli through its unilateral policies that destabilize the Horn of Africa and the Eastern Nile Basin.”
His remarks come after Ethiopia this month inaugurated its $5 billion dam, with a reservoir capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, while ignoring Egyptian-Sudanese longstanding calls for a legally-binding agreement that governs the filling and operation of the dam.
Egypt and Sudan argue that such a deal would ensure their water rights, especially at the times of drought.
Ethiopia rejects a legally-binding deal on the dam, describing the project as a sovereign right and a cornerstone of its development and energy ambitions.
On the day of inauguration on 9 September, Egypt submitted a formal letter to the UN Security Council condemning GERD as an “illegal unilateral measure.”
The letter said Cairo had shown “utmost restraint” for years by resorting to diplomacy and international organizations, including the UN.
Adopting such measures, Egypt said, “is not out of weakness, but out of Egypt’s firm conviction in the importance of cooperation to achieve the common good of all Nile Basin states.”
Cairo has repeatedly asserted the unilateral filling and operation of the dam, without a binding legal agreement, pose an existential threat, as the country depends on the Nile for more than 98 percent of its water needs.
During his UNGA addres, Abdelatty stressed that Egypt is capable of protecting its water rights and will not compromise them.
“Ethiopia has chosen to violate international law, pursued destabilizing unilateral policies in the Horn of Africa and the Eastern Nile Basin, and announced the completion of its dam while dreaming, or rather deluding itself, that Egypt would forget its existential rights and interests in the Nile,” Abdelatty stated.
The foreign minister said Egypt remains open to judicial and arbitration mechanisms under international law, but questioned any genuine intent from the Ethiopian side to abide by them.
“If anyone boasts of commitment to international law, we are fully prepared to address the matter before judicial and arbitration mechanisms, should there be sincere intent to submit to these frameworks, which, in reality, has never and will never exist,” Abdelatty said.
He stressed that the UN Charter and the principles of international law grant Egypt the right to defend its existential interests in the Nile.
“As they (Ethiopia) resort to stalling while threatening the lives of millions in the downstream states, we will not relent in protecting our rights, and we are capable of doing so,” he declared.
Sun, Sep. 28, 2025
