Africa-Press – Ethiopia. October 14, 2025 2 minutes read Addis Abeba – Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water and Energy has accused Egypt of intensifying “hostile rhetoric” over the Nile River and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), warning that Cairo’s “colonial-era mindset” threatens regional cooperation among Nile Basin countries.
The statement, issued on Monday, following remarks by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Sunday, who warned that Egypt “will not stand with its hands tied” in the face of Ethiopia’s “irresponsible approach” and vowed to take “all necessary measures” to safeguard Egypt’s water interests.
In response, the ministry said Ethiopia “will not be pressured or cowed into abandoning its right to utilize the Nile,” describing Egypt’s stance as a “failed policy of undermining Ethiopia instead of fostering collaboration.”
It accused Cairo of repeatedly blocking “transboundary cooperation rooted in international law,” citing Egypt’s “bad-faith” conduct during trilateral talks on the GERD and its rejection of the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), “the only basin-wide treaty of the Nile River.”
The ministry further accused Egypt of spreading “contradictory narratives,” shifting “from fabricated claims of drought to warnings of flooding,” and “dragging Sudan into its self-fabricated crisis.”
Ethiopia, it said, upholds “the highest professional standards” in dam management and remains committed to dialogue, emphasizing that “water security can only mean equitable and reasonable utilization of the Nile by all riparian states.”
The statement comes as part of an ongoing exchange of accusations between Ethiopian and Egyptian institutions over the management and utilization of the Nile River. Earlier this month, Egypt accused Ethiopia of acting “recklessly and irresponsibly” in managing the Nile flood through unilateral dam operations, saying the moves have exacerbated flooding in Sudan and pose a direct threat to Egyptian land and lives.
Ethiopia has dismissed accusations made by the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation regarding the GERD, calling them “falsehoods” and “misrepresentations.”
In a statement on 3 October 2025, Egypt’s ministry claimed Ethiopia’s dam management “lacks the most basic principles of responsibility and transparency.” In response, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation, in a statement released today, 4 October 2025, said that “heavy rainfall in recent months would have caused historical destruction in Sudan and Egypt had the GERD not been in place.”
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation argued that regulated water flow from the dam has reduced peak flood magnitudes and minimized damage downstream.
Citing data recorded in Sudan, the statement noted that prior to the GERD, peak floods in the months of August and September often exceeded 800 million cubic meters per day. In comparison, the average daily release from the GERD in the same months this year was 154.7 million cubic meters and 472 million cubic meters, respectively. Ethiopia asserts that the GERD has significantly reduced the risk of flooding.
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