Egypt's minister of irrigation has described Ethiopia's dam on the Nile as illegitimate and said a 2015 declaration between the two countries is not final, according to العربية. The remarks were reported on Sunday, 20 September 2026.
The minister's position, as carried by العربية, is that the earlier declaration does not close the file on the project. Cairo has separately stated it will take all measures needed to protect its water security, according to Sky News Arabia.
In comments reported by Masrawy, the minister also said Ethiopians have a right to electricity, health care and water, just as Egyptians do — a framing that places the dispute over sharing the river alongside recognition of Ethiopia's development needs.
The minister said Egypt's share amounts to only 2.7 percent of the rain that falls across the Nile basin, according to Youm7. That figure was cited to argue that Egypt's position rests on a small portion of the basin's total rainfall.
Separately, Al-Ahram's portal reported media cooperation between the irrigation ministry and the state information service on water issues, suggesting Cairo intends to press its case publicly as well as diplomatically.
The long-running dispute centers on how the river's waters are divided among the countries that depend on it, and on what obligations, if any, bind the parties. Egypt has consistently tied its national security to the flow of the Nile.
What to watch next: whether Cairo's latest statements are followed by formal diplomatic steps, and whether the three countries return to negotiations over the dam's operation.
