Egyptian Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam warns that Cairo rejects unilateral GERD operations and retains all legal options to safeguard its Nile water rights
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam issued a sharp warning to Ethiopia, declaring that Cairo rejects all “unilateral decisions” regarding the construction, filling, and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Speaking to domestic and international journalists in Cairo, Sewilam stated that Egypt retains the right to employ all measures allowed under international law to protect its water security, asserting that time does not legitimize what Cairo considers an unlawful project on shared Nile waters.
Sewilam claimed that uncoordinated operational protocols at the GERD pose structural and environmental risks for downstream nations, including potential “man-made flood disasters” or severe droughts across Sudan and Egypt.
Highlighting Egypt’s baseline vulnerability, the minister noted that 98 percent of the country’s renewable water originates outside its borders, with annual per capita availability dropping to 472 cubic meters—well below the international water scarcity threshold. While Egypt has invested in wastewater recycling and desalination initiatives, Sewilam emphasized that alternative technology cannot replace the Nile River as Cairo’s primary lifeline.
Despite opposing Addis Ababa’s management of the Blue Nile infrastructure, Cairo maintains that it supports broader “economic development in upstream states.” Sewilam stated that Egypt supported 36 development initiatives in the Southern Nile Basin, including funding commitments for South Sudan’s Grand Fula Dam project.
Egypt says it has disbursed over $120 million for water infrastructure across African partner nations and launched a new regional development fund backed by an initial $100 million capital allocation, framing Cairo’s opposition to the GERD as a legal and security grievance rather than a generalized stance against regional development.
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