Abdelatty's remarks came during his speech at a joint press conference with Veldkamp in Cairo.

“We believe in the development rights of all Nile Basin countries, just as Ethiopia must respect Egypt's right to life by safeguarding its water security,” Abdelatty said.

Egypt’s top diplomat also informed his Dutch counterpart of the critical importance of water, emphasizing that it is a matter of life or death for over 110 million Egyptians.

The press conference tackled "the water sector and its importance, addressing related challenges, like water scarcity and managing scarce water resources, especially since the Netherlands has one of the most prestigious schools worldwide in water resource management.”

In addition, the foreign minister discussed the financial mechanism launched by the Egyptian government to fund all developmental and water projects in the Southern Nile Basin region, with funding amounting to $100 million.

As the Nile provides approximately 97 percent of Egypt's water needs, the country has access to only 59.6 billion cubic metres annually out of the required 114 billion, resulting in a substantial deficit.

Earlier on Tuesday, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hany Sewilam highlighted safeguarding water resources, deeming it a crucial national security issue for Egypt’s future generations to achieve sustainable development.

On 31 October, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the filling completion of the GERD, the mega dam with a 74-billion-cubic-metre reservoir that Addis Ababa has been building since 2011, noting that sufficient water has been stored.

A month earlier, Egypt reiterated its strong opposition to Ethiopia's unilateral actions regarding the GERD, sending a letter to the UN Security Council. This followed Ethiopia’s fifth filing for the dam’s filling, which began in July.

Over the past three years, Ethiopia has unilaterally completed four phases of filling the GERD and activated two turbines, despite objections from Egypt and Sudan, raising concerns about Egypt's water security.

Egypt substantial burden
 

Meanwhile, Abdelatty indicated that “Egypt bears a substantial burden for hosting approximately 10 million guests.”

The foreign minister added that Egypt has the maximum capacity it can handle, emphasizing that Europe and the Western community must bear their responsibilities in supporting Egypt with those large numbers of guests and refugees.

In a June meeting with Anna Bjerde, the World Bank's managing director of operations, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly called for “a clear cooperation mechanism” between the Egyptian government and development partners to support Egypt in hosting millions of migrants and refugees.

Earlier in April, Madbouly said at a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Riyadh that the onus of spending $10 billion annually to accommodate the refugees and migrants falls on Egypt. 

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has previously offered assurances that Egypt is not a transit point for irregular migrants to Europe, asserting that the country does not have refugee camps, describing refugees hosted in Egypt as “guests in the country.”

El-Sisi has pointed out that refugees in Egypt are integrated into society and have access to education, medical treatment, and work.

Gaza and the Palestinian cause
 

The discussions addressed several vital issues, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause, which is the core of the conflict in the region. Abdelatty emphasized that "the illusions and arrogance of power will not bring security to Israel, nor will they bring security and stability to the Middle East."

He stressed the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state and responding to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for an independent state with East Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.

Abdelatty highlighted Egypt’s efforts and initiatives to unite the Palestinian factions through communication between Hamas and Fatah.

Earlier this week, Cairo hosted two delegations of Hama and Fatah. Discussions focused on forming a technocratic relief-focused committee to oversee humanitarian and relief operations in the post-war Gaza Strip through a presidential decree by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority.

During the press conference, Abdelatty also pointed out that discussions with his Dutch counterpart included the blatant crimes and violations occurring in Gaza, especially in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, which are deeply shameful.

Egypt's foreign minister rejected all unilateral legislation issued by Israel, particularly those related to the prohibition of the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which was established by a resolution from the UN General Assembly, and emphasized that no one, regardless of their position, has the authority to halt its activities, especially in the occupied territories.

For his part, Veldkamp expressed concern regarding the Israeli decision to halt the work of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

On Monday, Israel said it had terminated the agreement facilitating the work of the UNRWA, the leading aid provider in Gaza, a week after its parliament approved a bill banning the UNRWA from working in Israel, despite objections from the international community.

The Dutch foreign minister also called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, saying: “We will do everything we can to achieve peace in Gaza and Lebanon and to limit the cycle of violence in the region.”

Veldkamp expressed his appreciation for Egypt's role in reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.