The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
The source said that Cairo's remarks also reflect Addis Ababa’s continued delusions that it can impose hegemony over a shared international river and subject it to the will of a single state.
The source added that the remarks once again undermine Ethiopia’s repeated claims that its actions are aimed at development without harming others.
Explicitly declaring an intention to “control” the flows of an international river to the downstream countries reveals an extremely dangerous approach that is less about legitimate development than an attempt to impose a fait accompli, monopolize a shared international water resource, and exploit geographic location to threaten the water rights and interests of the downstream countries.
Such an approach is not recognized under international law, and Egypt will not allow it to be imposed as a fait accompli, the source stressed.
The source affirmed that the Nile River does not belong to any particular country, stressing that notions of controlling the river or unilaterally regulating its flows blatantly conflict with established international law governing shared international waterways.
These principles include, foremost, the obligation not to cause harm, consultation, consensus, good-faith cooperation, and respect for the rights and interests of other Nile Basin countries, the source said.
The source stressed that Egypt had previously stated in its letters to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that it would take all measures available to it under international law to protect the rights and capabilities of its people concerning the Nile.
The source further affirmed that the Egyptian state has multiple, diverse means at its disposal and can effectively defend the interests of the Egyptian people in the Nile, stressing that Egypt will neither accept nor allow any party to control water flows to the downstream countries.
The Egyptian official source's remarks came in response to Ethiopian Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Itefa's remarks, which were reported by Al-Arabiya, that Nile flows to Egypt and Sudan would be “under Ethiopia’s control” and calling for additional dams.
Separately, CNN Arabic cited Habtamu as saying the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement would correct “inequalities” in water use, guarantee equitable and sustainable utilization, and establish a basin-wide commission to manage the river.
The agreement, commonly known as the Entebbe Agreement, entered into force in October 2024 after ratification or accession by six upstream countries.
Egypt and Sudan did not sign it and maintain that it is not binding on them or capable of affecting their established water rights. The agreement does not allocate specific water shares but sets out principles concerning equitable use, preventing significant harm, exchanging data, and notifying other states of planned projects.
The controversy comes amid the long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Ethiopia formally inaugurated in September 2025.
The dam has a reservoir capacity of 74 billion cubic metres and an installed generation capacity of 5,150 megawatts. Ethiopia completed five filling stages between 2020 and 2024 without reaching a binding operating agreement with Egypt and Sudan.
Cairo and Khartoum say the absence of agreed operating rules and regular data exchange exposes them to sudden water shortages or uncontrolled releases.
In a September 2025 letter to the UNSC, Egypt said it would take all appropriate measures permitted under international law to protect its people’s interests in the Nile.
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