Borkena
Toronto – Abdel Fattah El Sisi is denying that his country did not make threats against Ethiopia despite disagreements.
He said so during the second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum which his country hosted this week.
“President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said that Egypt has no disputes with its Ethiopian neighbors and Cairo’s sole demand is the preservation of its Nile water rights and the achievement of a legally binding agreement on the Ethiopian dam, ” he said during his speech to participants of the conference, according to Egyptian sources.
He also painted an image of this country with consistent commitment for “non-interference in other countries’ affairs and non-destabilization.”
His claims are likely to sound like flattery to Ethiopians. There have been allegations in Ethiopia, including by the government, that Egypt has been behind Ethiopian rebel groups one way or another. In the 1960, Egypt hosted Eritrean Liberation Movements including EPLF. what became People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) after independence.
In 2016, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) dominated EPRF government accused Egypt of destabilizing Ethiopia by financing radical ethnic Oromo Nationalists. At the time, the Egyptian Ambassador was called.
More recently, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs alleged that Egypt continued to engaged in activities that destabilize Ethiopia while framing Eritrea as a proxy actor.
The tone of Abdel Fattah El Sisi ‘s speech at the partnership forum in Cairo this week seems to have intention to resume negotiations with Ethiopia.
Yet, the prospect of reaching a deal is questionable to the say the least.
An Egyptian news source cited President Sisi as saying Egypt’s “demand is the preservation of its Nile water rights and the achievement of a legally binding agreement on the Ethiopian dam.”
Negotiation was underway for well over a decade between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan while the GERD Project was under construction which was completed in September 2025. No agreement has been reached.
Egypt has been advancing “historical rights over the Nile” narrative based on the 1959 agreement to which Ethiopia was not a party. The arrangement was for Egypt to have a water monopoly over Nile. Ethiopia, contributing about 85 percent of the nile water flowing to the lower riparian countries, was given no water share.
Ethiopia has been negotiating from a point of view of equitable use of the water rejecting “historical right” which Egyptian President reframed as “Preservation” of water rights.
“The binding agreement” Egypt is pushing for is compromising Ethiopia’s sovereignty and its future use of the water. It wants to have decisive role in the administration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and how Ethiopia uses water from Abbay (Nile).
There is a noticeable concern, as seen from social media updates of notable Ethiopians, that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government might end up agreeing to Egyptian terms – apparently due to possible involvement of the Trump administration or strategic miscalculation in connection with changing Egypt-Eritrea relations.
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I call upon the leaders of these two nations to behave as civilized people and sort things out amicable the waters of the Nile River. So far the dam has not caused any reduction in the flow of water that is reaches Egypt. That is a proven fact and it is great for the people of Egypt. Egypt’s concern is understandable and the term ‘dam’ itself can be concerning. Egypt depends on the waters of The Nile for survival. It is not without reason that Egypt is called ‘the gift of The Nile’. On the other hand with its fast growing population electrification is a matter of survival for Ethiopia too. If there I any concern, it can not be solved with intimidation or the use of force which will only end up to be a disaster for Egypt and also for Sudan. So both should stop behaving like kids and go back to the negotiating table.