Egyptian Minister praises Nile Basin consultations, voices GERD concerns
Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sewilam, has commended the recent ministerial decision to launch a consultative process involving seven Nile Basin countries to explore a path forward based on consensus. The countries involved are Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Sewilam's remarks came during the extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) held on 21 February 2025, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting preceded the annual Nile Day celebrations on February 22nd, which commemorate the founding of the Nile Basin Initiative.
The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Water from South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya, along with the Ambassadors of Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, and representatives from Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.
Sewilam conveyed the greetings of Egypt's 107 million citizens, emphasising that their lives, culture, and future are deeply connected to the Nile River, to their 'brothers and sisters' in the Nile Basin, with whom they share a common heritage.
Sewilam stressed that the Nile River is the lifeline of the basin countries, an artery that sustains their economies, ensures food security, and safeguards the well-being of their populations. He said the sustainable management of this shared resource is a fundamental responsibility to ensure the long-term stability, prosperity, and security of the entire region.
He stated that Egypt has always been a strong advocate of regional cooperation, noting its role in establishing the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) in 1999. He added that in the first decade of the initiative, Egypt provided financial, technical, and political contributions, strengthening NBI as a platform for dialogue and collaboration among the basin countries.
Sewilam said that Egypt had to freeze its participation in the initiative's technical activities in 2010 due to a shift in the decision-making mechanism, when the core principle of consensus was disregarded.
He added that the draft Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), which lacked unanimous agreement among all Nile Basin states, was opened for signature. He said that this development deepened divisions within the region and heightened tensions among Nile Basin countries.
Sewilam reaffirmed Egypt's full commitment to supporting the consultative process, and expressed his hope that it would yield an agreement among the concerned countries and enable Egypt to resume technical participation in NBI once a unified vision is reached.
Sewilam also reiterated Egypt's objection to including a visit to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as part of the Nile Day celebrations. He said the dam was constructed, filled, and is being operated unilaterally, which he said violates international law and breaches the 2015 Declaration of Principles Agreement.
He said that Egypt has consistently handled the GERD issue with restraint, insisting on keeping the dispute as a trilateral issue between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, without expanding it to include the entire Nile Basin.
Sewilam said that Ethiopia's move to use its role as host of this regional gathering to impose such a visit risks dragging the entire Nile Basin into the GERD dispute, which he warned could harm the unity of the basin states and threaten regional cooperation.
He said that the host country has two choices: either uphold the spirit of unity and shield the basin from tensions, or proceed with the visit—at the risk of undermining the gathering's purpose.
Sewilam reiterated Egypt's commitment to the foundational principles of the Nile Basin Initiative, stressing that upholding the principle of consensus is essential to ensuring the initiative's sustainability and maximizing mutual benefits for all member states. He affirmed that regional stability must be built on dialogue, cooperation, and mutual respect.
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