Diplomatic tension escalated between Egypt and Ethiopia against the backdrop of Ethiopian statements about the “High Dam”

An Ethiopian minister sparked widespread controversy with statements on social media in which he criticized Egypt, demanding that it “explain why it built the High Dam in Aswan without his country’s approval,” before he later deleted the post after a wave of popular ridicule in Egypt over his words, and an official response that considered his behavior “reveals confusion and political miscalculation.”

The past few days witnessed a diplomatic escalation between Cairo and Addis Ababa, which resulted in the expulsion of diplomats.

Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy Habtamu Etefa said that his country “possesses a sovereign right to develop and use its water resources in the Nile River based on the principle of fair and reasonable use,” rejecting calls for Ethiopia to obtain prior approval from downstream countries for its projects to develop water resources.

Habtamu added, in a social media post on Saturday, “Before criticizing Ethiopia, Egypt should explain why it built the High Dam in Aswan without Ethiopia’s approval,” linking the historical experience of the Aswan project to the current debate regarding the Ethiopian “Renaissance Dam.”

These statements were quickly picked up by the pioneers of social media platforms in Egypt, and the platforms witnessed a widespread wave of satire that refuted these Ethiopian claims, and clashed with them intellectually in a manner that combined denunciation and popular sarcasm.

The majority of the ridicule focused on the “naive” geographic paradox into which the minister fell, stating that “Egypt is located at the end of the river’s course as a downstream country, and the High Dam was built to reserve water and generate electricity within Egyptian territory without cutting off water from the upstream country, Ethiopia,” which was reflected in comments such as “Please be careful, the Nile goes backwards,” and “Holding the map upside down.”

Others criticized the official Ethiopian discourse, saying that it lacked “the ABCs of geography,” alluding to primary school curricula and simple Nile geography, as users sarcastically asked: “The High Dam is after them, not before them, to prevent water.” Some also pointed out that “the official Ethiopian discourse is random and lacks professionalism.” While some comments reflected a state of accumulated popular distress resulting from repeated provocative statements by the Ethiopian side over the years of the “Renaissance Dam” crisis.

Alaa, the son of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said in a tweet on “X” that the use of the “High Dam” as an excuse or as a tool for comparison by some voices in the upstream country demonstrates “either blatant ignorance of the geographical nature of the river, or a failed attempt to justify non-compliance with the agreements and laws that regulate the movement of rivers.”

In conjunction with these criticisms, the Ethiopian minister deleted his post, a few hours after it was published, which sparked a new “social” interaction, in which followers saw that the decision to publish and then quickly withdraw the deletion indicates a clear “fragility” in the Ethiopian discourse, and puts it in an embarrassing position before international and regional public opinion.

Then the official Egyptian response came from an official source at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, in which he said, “Preoccupation with responding to such quarrels and the state of political imbalance reflected in the publication of the Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy is nothing more than a waste of time.”

The source added, in statements reported by the official Middle East News Agency on Saturday evening, that “the question that should be asked is: Why did the Ethiopian minister delete his shameful post about the High Dam from his Facebook account?”

The source said, “Deleting the post reveals political confusion and misjudgment, and a miserable attempt to divert attention from the essence of the crisis, which is Ethiopia’s continued unilateral actions that violate the rules of international law regarding its illegal dam.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stressed that Egypt “understands, by virtue of its location and the needs of its people, the importance of the water issue, and affirms that cooperation in managing transboundary rivers must be based on the relevant rules of international law, consultation and coordination, and the principles of good neighborliness and non-harm.”

He added, during the opening session of the eighth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union and the regional economic blocs in the city of El Alamein (northwestern Egypt), on Sunday, that “every country has the right to development and benefit from its natural resources, but at the same time, this right must be exercised in a responsible manner, and not cause harm to other countries.” He pointed out that “our common interests are greater than our differences, and we can achieve well-being and prosperity for our peoples, as long as intentions are sincere, the language of dialogue prevails, and we commit to the principle of achieving benefit for all.”

Al-Sisi said that Egypt “reaffirms its firm position rejecting any external interference in the internal affairs of African countries, and calling for respecting the sovereignty of countries and the unity and integrity of their territories as basic principles that are indispensable for the stability of our continent.”

He also pointed out that “our countries’ relations must be based on mutual respect, good neighbourliness, dialogue and consultation, away from unilateral policies or narrow interests.”

He stressed “the importance of dealing with cross-border issues as issues that require cooperation, not competition, and dialogue, not confrontation, including the management and use of natural resources and cross-border rivers in accordance with international law.”

The eighth coordination meeting was held with the participation of African leaders, members of the African Union Bureau for the current year, and heads of African economic groupings and regional mechanisms.

Egyptian presidential spokesman Mohamed El-Shenawy stated that the meeting “discussed the progress made on the main topic of the African Union for the year 2026, which is ensuring the availability of sustainable water and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063, as well as developments in continental efforts aimed at strengthening coordination and integration between regional economic blocs in Africa, advancing institutional development paths for the African Union, and activating the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).”

In his speech, the Egyptian President stressed that “the African continent is capable of turning the effects of conflicts into opportunities for development, turning its challenges into engines of growth, and moving from merely dealing with its crises to building its own capabilities to rebuild and recover from the effects of conflicts.”

He added: “We meet (today) in light of a delicate stage that our world and our African continent are going through. Geopolitical tensions, conflicts, external interference, terrorism, extremism, and cross-border organized crime, in addition to the disruption of supply chains and the high cost of energy, food, and finance, impose pressures on our countries that exceed the ability of any country to confront them alone.”

Sisi also spoke about the fact that “the continent that possesses these resources, wealth, and human energies should not remain a mere source of raw materials and then re-import them in the form of final products from abroad. Rather, we must build integrated value chains within Africa, enhance our ability to produce and manufacture, and make African economic integration a real engine of growth.”

On the sidelines of the “coordination meeting,” Al-Sisi met with Senegalese President Basseiro Diomai Fay, and the meeting, according to the “Egyptian Presidency,” included an exchange of visions on a number of regional files, where it was emphasized “the necessity of adopting comprehensive peaceful solutions that address the roots of crises and preserve the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of countries.”

The two presidents also discussed the issue of water, and the Senegalese president indicated that his country “shares Egypt’s position on the Nile River issue, managing shared water resources wisely and respecting relevant international law, with the possibility of benefiting from the model of the Senegal River Development Organization, which is based on consultation, dialogue and non-harm, in a way that enhances water security and supports sustainable development paths on the African continent.”

The Egyptian President also met with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, and they discussed the issues raised on the African and international scene, and the Palestinian issue. The two presidents stressed “the importance of supporting efforts to achieve security and stability and settle conflicts by peaceful means, in a way that enhances the continent’s ability to direct its resources towards achieving sustainable development and raising the standard of living of its people.” They also discussed the issue of “illegal immigration,” the burdens it imposes on countries, and ways to confront it.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi affirmed today (Sunday) his country’s firm position rejecting any external interference in the internal affairs of African countries, and calling for respecting the sovereignty of countries and the unity and integrity of their territories, as basic principles. It is indispensable for the stability of the continent.

Al-Sisi said, in a speech today during the opening session of the eighth mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union and the regional economic blocs, which Egypt is hosting in the city of New Alamein, that “Egypt affirms that the relations of our countries must be based on mutual respect, good neighbourliness, dialogue and consultation, far from unilateral policies or narrow interests.”

Al-Sisi stressed the importance of dealing with cross-border issues, as they are issues that require cooperation, not competition, and dialogue, not confrontation, including the management and use of natural resources and cross-border rivers in accordance with international law.

He continued, saying: “We meet today in light of a delicate stage that our world and our African continent are going through. Geopolitical tensions, conflicts, external interventions, terrorism and extremism, and cross-border organized crime, in addition to the disruption of supply chains and the high cost of energy, food, and financing, impose pressures on our countries that exceed the ability of any country to confront them alone.”

He added: “Our message today must be clear. It is no longer enough to coordinate our positions; Rather, our capabilities must be integrated, and we must create our future with our joint efforts.”

He pointed out that "the integration we seek is not limited to the economic dimension. Sustainable management of shared resources, especially water, represents a real test of our ability to integrate and transform overlapping interests into opportunities for cooperation."

Al-Sisi said, in a speech published by the Egyptian presidency on its Facebook page: “Egypt, by virtue of its location and the needs of its people, realizes the importance of the water issue and affirms that cooperation in managing transboundary rivers must be based on the relevant rules of international law, consultation and coordination, and the principles of good neighborliness and non-harm.”

He added, “Every country has the right to development and benefit from its natural resources, but at the same time; This right must be exercised in a responsible manner, without causing harm to other countries, and that our common interests are greater than our differences, and we can achieve well-being and prosperity for our peoples, as long as intentions are sincere, the language of dialogue prevails, and we commit to the principle of achieving benefit for all.

He stressed that “economic integration is one of the most important tools for consolidating peace. The more the economies of our countries are linked to each other, the more the interests of our peoples overlap, and the more borders become bridges for the movement of trade and investment, the greater our ability to build a more stable and prosperous future.”

Sisi called for “the full activation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which entered into force in 2019, during the Egyptian presidency of the African Union, thus opening the way for building a real African market that contributes to benefiting from the enormous productive capabilities of our continent, increasing the volume of intra-trade, supporting industrialization and technology transfer, and increasing job opportunities.”

According to Egyptian presidential spokesman Mohamed El-Shenawy, the meeting was held with the participation of African leaders, members of the African Union Bureau for the current year, and heads of economic blocs and African regional mechanisms, noting that it addressed the progress made on the main theme of the African Union for the year 2026, which is “ensuring the availability of sustainable water and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of the 2063 Agenda.”

The meeting also discussed developments in continental efforts aimed at enhancing coordination and integration between regional economic blocs in Africa, advancing institutional development paths for the African Union, and activating the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

On Thursday evening, Egypt announced that “an Ethiopian diplomat in Cairo is persona non grata, and gave him 48 hours to leave the country,” after Addis Ababa expelled an Egyptian diplomat, according to what the official Middle East News Agency reported, citing an official source.

A short time ago, Ethiopia and Eritrea severed diplomatic relations between them, on Thursday, and the two sides exchanged accusations of fueling internal conflicts in light of the continuing fighting in northern Ethiopia, and Addis Ababa accused its neighbor Asmara of supporting the “Tigray People’s Liberation Front.”