Egypt Intensifies Arab, European Efforts to Resolve Water, GERD Issues

Egyptian and Dutch officials after signing the cooperation protocol. (Egyptian government)
Egyptian and Dutch officials after signing the cooperation protocol. (Egyptian government)
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Egypt Intensifies Arab, European Efforts to Resolve Water, GERD Issues

Egyptian and Dutch officials after signing the cooperation protocol. (Egyptian government)
Egyptian and Dutch officials after signing the cooperation protocol. (Egyptian government)

Egypt has intensified regional and international efforts to secure water needs as Ethiopia is expected to start the third phase of filling the Renaissance Dam’s reservoir during the rainy season in July.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is set to be the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa but has been a center of dispute with downstream nations Egypt and Sudan ever since work first began in 2011.

The last round of talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in Kinshasa ended in early April 2021 with no progress made. Ethiopia refused then to involve the quartet in GERD talks and renewed its commitment to the African Union-led talks.

In mid-September, the UN Security Council called on the three countries to resume negotiations under the auspices of the African Union, stressing the need to reach a “binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam within a reasonable timetable.

Meanwhile, Egypt and The Netherlands signed on Tuesday a cooperation protocol in the field of water resources.

Egyptian Water and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty said Egyptian-Dutch cooperation over water represents an example of cooperation and mutual respect and benefits.

The signing event was attended by the Netherlands’ Ambassador in Cairo, Han Maurits, and the Undersecretary of the Irrigation Ministry and Supervisor of the minister’s office, Ragab Abdel Azim.

This step aims at bolstering the existing friendly relations between the two countries, in light of the similar challenges they have been facing in the field of water resources, remarked Abdel Aty.

He said both countries are aware of the great potentials of the bilateral technical cooperation in this field and its social and economic impacts.

In a statement to the cabinet, Abdel Aty said the protocol includes boosting cooperation in the fields of planning and managing water resources, achieving the principles of integrated water resources management, the optimal use and sustainable management of water resources, raising the efficiency of water use, reusing agricultural wastewater, and cooperating in water treatment and modern irrigation systems.

Egypt suffers from a scarcity of water resources and needs about 114 billion cubic meters annually, while the available water resources amount to 74 billion cubic meters.

The Nile water accounts for more than 90 percent of Egypt’s needs or 55.5 billion cubic meters.

Egypt is expecting a shortage in its water share as Ethiopia begins operating the GERD on the Nile River.

Separately, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry briefed his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita on the latest developments related to the mega-dam.

The officials held talks in the Moroccan capital Rabat on Monday.

Bourita reiterated the kingdom’s full support for Egypt’s water security, saying it is an integral part of Arab water security.

He urged involved parties to avoid taking unilateral measures and adhere to the 2015 Declaration of Principles, which prohibits any of the parties from taking unilateral actions in the use of the Nile waters.

The FM underscored the importance of cooperating in good faith to reach a legally binding agreement on the rules of filling and operating the GERD.



Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Warns US Against Intervening in Israel-Iran Conflict

 Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Warns US Against Intervening in Israel-Iran Conflict

 Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah warned on Sunday it would resume attacks on US troops in the region if the United States intervenes in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

"We are closely monitoring the movements of the American enemy's army in the region," Kataib Hezbollah Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement. "If America intervenes in the war, we will act directly against its interests and bases spread across the region without hesitation."

Founded in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of the elite Iraqi armed factions closest to Iran. The group, a key pillar of Iran's network of regional proxy forces, has claimed responsibility for dozens of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US forces in both Iraq and Syria.

Early last year, Kataib Hezbollah announced the suspension of all its military operations against US troops in the region in response to efforts by the Iraqi government.

Kataib Hezbollah is part of a coalition of Iran-aligned groups known collectively as the "Axis of Resistance" — an umbrella of hardline Shiite armed factions that have claimed more than 150 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since the onset of the Gaza war about 20 months ago.

Iraq, a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, is striving to avoid upsetting its fragile stability while focusing on rebuilding after years of conflict.