Egypt, represented by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, has formally condemned on Tuesday 9 September Ethiopia’s inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in a letter to the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Egypt asserted that the project remains a unilateral endeavor that violates international law and does not alter the legal framework governing the Eastern Nile Basin. In the letter, Abdelatty emphasized that Ethiopia’s recent actions add to a series of violations, including a UN Security Council Presidential Statement from September 2021. He reaffirmed Egypt’s steadfast position against any unilateral Ethiopian measures that compromise the existential interests of downstream countries, particularly Egypt and Sudan. Cairo’s communication to the UN stressed that any belief that Egypt would ignore its vital interests in the Nile is a misconception. The letter reiterated Egypt’s commitment to international law and its refusal to accept Ethiopian attempts to control water resource management unilaterally. Egypt has maintained engagement with international organizations, including the UN, enforcing a restraint approach. This approach, according to the foreign ministry, stems from a desire to foster cooperation and mutual benefits among Nile Basin countries rather than an inability to defend national…
