Ethiopia is now Egypt’s greatest security threat says Minister Atti

The complete lack of Ethiopian cooperation on Nile water usage is now Egypt’s greatest security threat. No Pan-Africanism sentiments here as Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atti in his speech at the Planet Budapest 2021 Sustainability Expo and Summit on Thursday said “Ethiopian side deliberately issued false statements and managed the dam unilaterally, which caused great damage to the two downstream countries [Egypt and Sudan],” he added. Sudan, as a result of the unilateral filling last year, suffered from a severe drought, followed by a flood, he clarified. He pointed out that the Egyptians and others along the Nile have shown “great flexibility” in trying to work out a deal with Ethiopia. Abiy Ahmed has avoided meeting or discussing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam with Egypt since the start of Ethiopia Tigray conflict. 

He and others in the Egyptian government have stated that the Nile River flow is a “matter of life and death” for Egyptians.  They add the increasing demand for water while is it becoming a scare resource demand that agreement by all users of the Nile must be bilateral. Climate change and this scarcity are causing a crisis. Egypt is looking at sea water desalination and improving the efficiency of using water resources in domestic, industrial, and agricultural applications but this does not negate the absolute need for Ethiopian cooperation.