Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Tuesday that Cairo will not compromise on its share of Nile River waters, calling any belief otherwise “a mistake.”
Speaking alongside Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Cairo, Sisi said Egypt and Sudan receive about 85 billion cubic meters annually — roughly 4% of the combined flow from the White and Blue Nile — and stressed that surrendering this quota would “mean giving up Egypt’s very life.”
While welcoming regional development from Nile waters, he insisted such projects must not reduce Egypt’s share. He also framed the dispute as part of a broader pressure campaign aimed at advancing unrelated objectives.
Ethiopia last month announced the completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, with an official inauguration set for September. The $4.2 billion project has fueled years of tension between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt, which fears reduced water flows. Talks under the African Union have yet to yield a binding water-sharing deal.
