In a recorded address to the 8th Cairo Water Week on Sunday, El-Sisi said Egypt’s reliance on diplomacy and international institutions, “foremost among them the United Nations (UN)”, should not be mistaken for weakness. It was, he said, “an expression of strength, maturity, and belief in dialogue and cooperation to safeguard the interests of all Nile Basin states without endangering any.”
'Reckless actions'
El-Sisi accused Ethiopia of harming downstream nations through “irregular water discharges made without prior notification or coordination.” He added that “such reckless actions by the Ethiopian administration must be confronted by the international community in general and the African continent in particular.”
He called for a binding deal to regulate water releases from the dam during droughts and floods, “within the framework of the agreement sought by the two downstream countries,” saying this was “the only way to achieve balance between the development needs of upstream countries and the prevention of harm to downstream states.”
The president reiterated Egypt’s rejection of unilateral measures on the Nile that “ignore international norms and agreements, threaten the interests of the basin’s peoples, and undermine the principles of justice and stability.”
“Development is not the privilege of one state,” he said. “It is a collective responsibility for all the peoples of the river and a right that can only be preserved through cooperation, not unilateral action.”
'Absence of political will'
Reviewing more than 14 years of negotiations, El-Sisi said Egypt had pursued “a fair and wise diplomatic path” aimed at “a legally binding agreement that takes into account the interests of all and achieves balance between rights and obligations.”
He said Cairo had proposed “numerous sound technical alternatives that would meet Ethiopia’s declared development goals while safeguarding the interests of the two downstream countries,” but these were met with “intransigence that can only be explained by the absence of political will and a desire to impose a unilateral reality driven by narrow political considerations.”
El-Sisi rejected “false claims of exclusive sovereignty over the Nile,” saying the river “is the joint property of all its riparian states and a collective resource that cannot be monopolized.”
He said flooding incidents since the dam’s partial operation “proved by practical evidence the validity of Egypt’s demand for a legally binding agreement governing the operation of the dam,” arguing that irregular releases had already caused damage to downstream nations.
Water scarcity
El-Sisi described water as a “matter of existence” for Egypt’s 100 million citizens, who rely on the Nile for more than 98 percent of their supply.
Egypt, he said, is among the world’s most water-scarce countries, receiving only 1.3 billion cubic metres of rain annually, with per-capita water availability of about 500 cubic metres, half the global water-poverty line.
He cited a new generation of integrated water-management projects to ease shortages, including the Bahr el-Baqar, al-Mahsama, and New Delta treatment plants, “among the largest reuse projects in the world,” which have also provided additional resources to support agricultural expansion and land reclamation. In addition to canal rehabilitation, modern irrigation systems, and coastal protection works.
Water diplomacy
El-Sisi said Egypt had sought to elevate water issues globally, citing its push at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2022 and the launch of the Action for Water Adaptation and Resilience (AWARE) initiative with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization.
The initiative, he said, aims to build partnerships and support developing countries through projects that “embody Africa’s aspirations, the hopes of the Arab peoples, and the ambitions of the Global South, anchored in justice and equity.”
He reaffirmed that Egypt’s commitment to diplomacy “reflects its conviction that cooperation is the most effective means to serve the interests of all Nile Basin nations,” while warning that the country “will take all necessary measures to protect its interests and its water security.”
Global cooperation
El-Sisi said international rivers “were not created to divide nations but to be lifelines of integration and bridges of cooperation.”
“Water security is not a luxury, and sustainable development is not an option,” he said. “They are inherent rights that can only be preserved through fair partnerships based on international law, mutual benefit, and the principle of no harm.”
He called for more innovation, research, and cooperation to confront rising demand, scarcity, and climate impacts.
“Let Cairo Water Week,” he said, “be a starting point toward a world where water becomes a bridge for cooperation, not a source of conflict, a symbol of hope, not a cause for dispute.”
Short link: