Sisi Rejects Political Use of Nile Waters as Ethiopia Tensions Rise
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has rejected the use of the Nile water dispute for political gains, while calling for peaceful solutions to conflicts across Africa as tensions between Cairo and Addis Ababa intensify.
Sisi made the remarks on Saturday during talks with Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who currently chairs the African Union, on the sidelines of the Alamein-Africa Forum in Egypt. He stressed the need for cooperation among Nile Basin countries based on shared interests and avoiding harm to any member state.
The Egyptian president described protecting Egypt’s water rights and interests as an “existential” issue for the country, while warning against unilateral measures affecting the interests of Nile Basin states. Egypt and Ethiopia have remained at odds over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia inaugurated in 2025 without a comprehensive agreement with Egypt and Sudan on its operation.
Sisi also reaffirmed Egypt’s support for the African Union’s efforts to resolve conflicts through peaceful means. His comments come days after the diplomatic crisis between Ethiopia and Eritrea escalated, with Addis Ababa closing its embassy in Asmara and expelling Eritrean diplomats. Ethiopia and Egypt have also exchanged diplomatic expulsions.
Cairo has denied accusations that it is involved in Ethiopia’s internal conflict. An Egyptian official said Saturday that the crisis in Ethiopia is an internal matter and that Egypt has no role in the fighting involving Ethiopian federal forces and an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
The latest statements place Nile water security, Ethiopia’s internal conflict and wider Horn of Africa tensions within an increasingly interconnected regional diplomatic dispute, with the African Union urging the countries involved to exercise restraint and pursue dialogue.
