A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) during its official inauguration ceremony in Guba, on September 9, 2025. Ethiopia inaugurated the continent's largest hydroelectric project on September 9, 2025 AFP
The letter, submitted by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Tuesday, said Ethiopia’s recent unilateral moves on GERD amounted to a fresh breach, adding to “a long list” of violations, including the UNSC’s Presidential Statement of 15 September 2021.
Cairo reaffirmed its rejection of Ethiopia’s unilateral measures, insisting it would not recognize or accept any consequences that undermine “the existential interests of the peoples of the two downstream states, Egypt and Sudan.”
“Since the unilateral initiation of the Ethiopian dam project and over the recent years, Cairo has exercised maximum restraint and chosen to resort to diplomacy and international organisations — including the UN,” the foreign ministry statement read.
It stressed that Egypt’s reliance on diplomacy did not stem from an inability to defend its existential interests, but from a firm belief in the importance of cooperation and mutual benefit for the peoples of the Nile Basin.
Such cooperation, it said, must be rooted in international law and take downstream concerns into account.
“In contrast, Addis Ababa has adopted intransigent positions, seeking to delay negotiations and impose a fait accompli,” the statement continued.
It accused Ethiopia of pursuing a political agenda—not developmental needs—aimed at mobilizing internal support by portraying a false image of an external enemy, under misleading claims of sovereignty over the Nile River, which is a shared resource among all riparian states.
The ministry warned that any “misguided assumptions” that Egypt might turn a blind eye to its existential interests in the Nile River are “purely illusory”, stressing that Cairo remains committed to international law and will not allow Ethiopia’s unilateral efforts to dominate water resource management.
“Egypt reserves its right to take all measures, as guaranteed under international law and the UN Charter, to defend the existential interests of its people,” it added.
Ethiopia officially inaugurated the $4 billion dam on Tuesday after more than a decade of construction on the Blue Nile, despite strong opposition from Egypt and Sudan.
The reservoir, designed to hold 74 billion cubic metres of water, has been filled in five stages since 2020 without a binding agreement.
Ethiopia has repeatedly rejected calls to sign such an agreement despite more than ten years of negotiations.
Egypt and Sudan argue that the unilateral filling and operation of the dam could sharply reduce downstream flows, particularly in drought years.
Khartoum has also raised concerns about the safety of its own dams.
Heavily dependent on the river, Egypt fears the GERD will intensify pressure on its limited annual allocation of 55.5 billion cubic metres, already far short of the 90 billion it says it requires.
In August, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi underlined that Egypt would never allow its water share, vital for more than 108 million citizens and 10 million residents, to be compromised.
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