Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi hosted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Cairo on Tuesday for high-level talks that centered on regional cooperation — and the increasingly tense dispute over the River Nile. Speaking at a joint press conference, Sisi made a pointed warning that Egypt would defend its water security “by all means allowed under international law,” a clear reference to the ongoing row over Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The $4.2 billion dam, built on the Blue Nile, is Africa’s largest hydroelectric project. Ethiopia insists it will provide clean energy for millions and accelerate development, but Cairo fears it will drastically cut its share of Nile waters, upon which Egypt depends for more than 90% of its fresh water. “Anyone who imagines that Egypt will turn a blind eye to an existential threat to its water security is mistaken,” Sisi said, vowing to closely monitor the dam’s impact. Talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have dragged on for over a decade without a binding agreement on how the dam will be filled and operated. Ethiopia has accused Egypt and Sudan of clinging to outdated, colonial-era treaties that granted them disproportionate rights to the Nile’s waters.
Tensions escalated last year when the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) — a new Nile water-sharing pact — came into force, supported by seven upstream nations, including Uganda. Egypt and Sudan rejected the deal, arguing it undermines their historical rights. For years, the Nile has been at the heart of one of Africa’s most complex geopolitical disputes, balancing the urgent needs of upstream countries seeking development with the fears of downstream nations reliant on the river for survival. The latest Cairo meeting underscores how far the region remains from finding common ground.
