President El Sisi Vows to Protect Egypt’s Water Supply Amid Nile Basin Tensions

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi

By Alwaght

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi vowed Monday to protect his country’s water supply amid tensions with the Nile upstream countries of Sudan and Ethiopia, which is building a controversial dam.

“Egypt will not go to war with its brothers,” Sisi said on state television, although Cairo fears its water supply will be affected by Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited the Ethiopian capital last month for talks on the dam project on the Blue Nile.

Egypt relies almost totally on the Nile for irrigation and drinking water, and says it has “historic rights” to the river, guaranteed by treaties from 1929 and 1959.

Sisi also stressed that Egypt was investing in its military to protect national security.

Last Tuesday al-Sisi welcomed his Eritrean Counterpart Isaias Afwerki at the presidential palace in Cairo, where the latter is visiting the country to discuss bilateral relations.

Meeting for the third time in Cairo, both leaders held talks on developments in the Nile Basin countries and the Horn of Africa region.

This visit comes amid the current tense relations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan regarding the Renaissance Dam negotiations and the already odd relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Sudan announced, Sunday, the arrival of military reinforcements from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – a branch of the Army – to the province of Kassala near the border with Eritrea.

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