CAIRO, Egypt: Egypt has escalated its dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), urging the UN Security Council to address Ethiopia’s “unilateral actions” that threaten regional stability. The two countries have long been at odds over the dam, which Ethiopia has been constructing on the Blue Nile River near the Sudanese border since 2011. Egypt claims the dam will severely impact its water supply.
On Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty sent a letter to the Security Council President condemning Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s remarks on the dam’s ongoing fifth filling phase, which began in July. The letter denounced Ethiopia’s actions as violations of international law and breaches of agreements made in 2015 and 2021.
Egypt criticized Abiy Ahmed’s comments about storing more Blue Nile water and completing the dam’s construction by December, calling them a threat to regional stability. The dam’s reservoir currently holds 62.5 billion cubic meters, and Ethiopia expects it to reach 70–71 billion by December, nearing its total capacity of 74 billion cubic meters.
Egypt and Sudan are pressing for a legally binding agreement on the dam’s filling and operation to safeguard their water shares. Egypt had previously raised similar concerns with the Security Council after Ethiopia’s fourth filling of the dam, leading to a call for renewed negotiations under the African Union in 2021.
