CAIRO—Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has reiterated that Egypt will not accept unilateral actions that threaten its water security, as longstanding disputes over Nile water sharing continue to strain relations between upstream and downstream countries.
Speaking at the opening of the ninth Cairo Water Week on Sunday, under the theme “Water as a Catalyst for Peace, Shared Prosperity and a Sustainable Planet,” El-Sisi said water security remained a central priority of Egypt’s foreign policy, stating that any expectations to the contrary are misplaced.
“Let me be clear: Any bet on Egypt accepting a fait accompli or compromising its water security is a losing bet,” the Business Today Egypt quoted El-Sisi, reaffirming Cairo’s opposition to measures it considers a threat to its share of Nile waters.
El-Sisi said Egypt supported the development aspirations of Nile Basin countries but insisted that projects should proceed through consultation, prior notification and the exchange of technical studies.
He said Egypt remained committed to cooperation with African and Arab countries, arguing that shared water resources should promote development rather than conflict.
“Every country has the right to development and to benefit from its natural resources, provided that this right is exercised responsibly, without harming other countries or undermining their water security,” he said.
El-Sisi added that the location of a river’s sources within a country did not give it exclusive control over a resource shared by several nations.
He reiterated that Egypt favoured dialogue, coordination and international law as the basis for resolving disputes, while maintaining that protecting the water security of its population remained a national responsibility.
“We are one family united by the Nile, and our shared interests are greater than our differences,” he said.
The warning comes amid decades of disagreements over how the 11 riparian countries in the river basin, including South Sudan should share the Nile’s waters.
Egypt and Sudan have historically relied on water-sharing agreements dating back to the colonial era, while upstream countries have called for a more equitable framework that recognises their rights to use the river for economic development.
South Sudan’s position in this dispute is particularly important because the country contributes to the White Nile system through rivers and wetlands, including the Sudd, one of the world’s largest wetlands.
Yet it was not an independent signatory to the 1959 agreement, which was negotiated between Egypt and Sudan before South Sudan gained independence in 2011.
The disagreements further intensified recently as upstream countries sought greater recognition of their rights to use the river for development. In 2010, several upstream states backed the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), which promotes equitable and reasonable use of shared water resources.
But, Egypt and Sudan opposed the agreement over concerns about water security and their historically recognised interests. South Sudan signed the framework in 2024, joining efforts to establish a more inclusive system of Nile Basin cooperation.
Another major source of tension has been the construction of Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.
While Ethiopia views the dam as essential for electricity generation and economic development, Egypt has raised concerns about its effects on downstream water supplies, particularly during droughts. Sudan has also raised concerns about dam safety, data sharing and the coordination of water releases.
For South Sudan, these disputes matter because the country has its own development needs, including irrigation, hydropower, water supply and climate resilience. The country could use the Nile waters to support agriculture and livelihoods, but now projects affecting shared water systems would require technical cooperation and careful consideration of downstream and regional interests.
