Nile dam dispute: Egypt lays out fresh case against Ethiopia

Egypt has detailed its latest legal position in the ongoing Nile river dispute, emphasizing Egypt's extreme reliance on the Nile and the potential risks posed by Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sewilam, highlighted that Egypt derives over 98% of its renewable water from outside its borders, and its annual renewable supply falls short of its estimated needs.

Egypt's water scarcity, at around 472 cubic meters per person annually, is deemed absolute by international standards. Sewilam argued that the Nile cannot remain subject to unilateral decisions by upstream countries, asserting that Egypt's water security hinges on the river. The presentation served as a rebuttal to Ethiopia's claim of receiving an outsized share of the river's water.

Sewilam emphasized that Ethiopia's annual allocation of 55.5 billion cubic meters of water represents only about 2.7% of the total rainfall in the Nile Basin, with only 4-5% of that rainfall reaching Aswan. He argued that Ethiopia's rainfall and water resources far exceed Egypt's, with Ethiopia receiving more than 1,000 billion cubic meters of rainfall in 2023 and having renewable water resources of roughly 122 billion cubic meters annually.

The minister sought to shift focus from historical allocations to the question of whether Ethiopia's economic development necessitates control over the Blue Nile. Egypt's strategy, dubbed "Water 2.0," focuses on treating and reusing water, upgrading infrastructure, and expanding desalination and food imports, effectively importing "virtual water."

Cairo has also sought international support, taking the dispute to the UN Security Council and emphasizing the need for all Nile Basin states to comply with international law.