Egypt Warns Ethiopia Against Controlling Nile Water Flows

By Al Mayadeen English

17 Aug 2026 19:18

Cairo rejects any Ethiopian move to control Nile flows or build dams affecting downstream states, warning of violations of international law.

Egypt has warned against any Ethiopian efforts to control the flow of the Nile River or construct additional dams that could affect the downstream states, stressing that it “will not accept or allow any party to control water flows to Egypt and Sudan.”

According to Egypt’s official state news agency, a senior Egyptian official on Sunday said remarks attributed to Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy Habtamu Itefa about plans to build additional dams on the Nile and control water flows represented a continuation of Ethiopia’s “unilateral approach” and a violation of international law.

Egypt rejects unilateral control over Nile flows

The Egyptian official said declaring an intention to control the flow of a shared international river represented a “highly dangerous direction,” arguing that the issue went beyond development and amounted to an attempt to impose a fait accompli on the downstream states and exploit geographical position to control a shared water resource.

He stressed that the Nile does not belong to any single country and that its waters are governed by international legal rules regulating shared rivers. He also affirmed that Egypt has multiple means at its disposal to defend its water interests. 

The Egyptian position follows remarks by Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam on August 4, in which he rejected the construction of new Ethiopian dams along the Nile if they could affect Egypt’s water rights.

GERD remains at center of Egypt-Ethiopia dispute

Sewilam’s remarks came after reports of Ethiopian plans to build three additional dams alongside the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which has been at the center of a longstanding dispute between Addis Ababa on one side and Cairo and Khartoum on the other since construction began in 2011.

Egypt and Sudan are demanding a legally binding agreement governing the filling and operation of the GERD, as well as mechanisms for dealing with drought and prolonged drought, in a manner that safeguards their water rights and interests.

Ethiopia maintains that the dam is a sovereign development project intended to generate electricity and says it does not seek to harm the downstream states. Addis Ababa has continued to reject the formula proposed by Cairo and Khartoum for a binding agreement on the dam’s operation.

Disputes over the GERD have stalled trilateral negotiations for years. Talks resumed in 2023 before breaking down again in 2024 without a final settlement.

The latest escalation has once again placed water security at the center of Egyptian-Ethiopian relations, with Cairo’s concerns extending beyond the GERD to potential future Ethiopian projects that could affect the flow of the Nile toward the downstream states.