CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has directly threatened Ethiopia for the first time since the dispute erupted over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), amid the failed and stalled negotiation rounds under the auspices of the African Union (AU). “No one is allowed to take away a single drop of water from Egypt; no one can even imagine the instability that will ensue in the region if such a thing were to happen. No one should dare question our capabilities. But if they want to put us to the test, then so be it.”
Sisi's threats came during a press conference on March 30 on the sidelines of his visit to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), after the giant Ever Given container ship was refloated after being stuck in the Suez Canal for nearly a week. “We have never made any threats; we have always had a rational, patient approach,” Sisi said, adding, “Hostile action is ugly and has effects that extend for many years because people never forget such actions. Egypt’s water is off limits. If anyone were to cross this red line, our response would affect the stability of the entire region.”
In a separate statement, Sisi stressed the pivotal importance of Egypt to serve and protect international interests through its geographical location, especially after the global losses that followed the Suez Canal’s six-day blockage as the Ever Given was stuck. As soon as the ship was refloated, Sisi took to Facebook on March 29 and said, “We were able to get things running normally again so the world can rest assured that its goods and needs that pass through this pivotal navigation artery are back on track.”
It has been six years since Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia signed the Declaration of Principles in March 2015, whose 10 clauses defined the rules of filling the GERD and reducing any potential risks to the security of the Egyptian and Sudanese water resources. However, technical and legal discussions between the three countries have been in vain, especially since Ethiopia has been taking unilateral decisions to complete the construction at the dam site, implemented the first-phase filling in July 2020, and plans to move forward with the second-phase filling in July this year despite Egyptian and Sudanese objection, as they consider this action a direct threat to their national security.
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