Egypt asserted that it adheres to "restraint" despite Ethiopia's "procrastination" in reaching a legal framework regarding the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD), announced Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Sunday.
Shoukry accused some upstream countries of attempting to monopolize and control water resources.
Egypt fears the GERD would damage its limited share of the Nile water, about 55.5 billion cubic meters, which the country needs for more than 90 percent of its supply of drinking water, irrigation for agriculture, and industry.
During the inauguration of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) annual conference, Shoukry reviewed the water security challenges facing the Middle East and the African continent.
The Minister noted that some upstream countries are trying to monopolize the water resource and control it without regard for the capabilities of other riparian countries.
Egypt adopted a position that does not object to establishing development projects in the Nile River basin countries as long as there was prior coordination and it did not harm the downstream countries.
Egypt has been in futile negotiations for more than a decade with Ethiopia and Sudan in an attempt to reach an agreement.
Shoukry said the negotiations stumbled due to Ethiopia's procrastination in reaching a binding legal framework for filling and operating the Dam, stressing Egypt's adherence to restraint and observance of the rights of the Ethiopian people.
He asserted the need to reach, without delay or procrastination, a binding legal agreement regarding the GERD filling and operation.
Negotiations between the three countries have been frozen since April 2021 after the failure of the African Union (AU) to mediate a solution to the dispute.
Egypt resorted to the UN Security Council to protest and demand pressure on Ethiopia through international partners to accept an agreement that satisfies all parties.
Head of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) Mohammed al-Orabi noted that Ethiopia was unwilling to negotiate, accusing it of unilaterally and annually filling the reservoir.
Orabi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the statements of Ethiopian officials claiming Addis Ababa's readiness for negotiations could have been more profound.
The diplomat called for international intervention to solve the issue, threatening the entire region's stability.
In recent months, the US showed interest in following this issue closely, according to the Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid on the sidelines of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to Cairo in January.
Blinken said Washington supported any solution that considers all parties' interests, calling on all parties involved in the GERD issue to show flexibility to deal with the existential interests that Egypt has in this regard.
On August 11, the Ethiopian government announced the operation of a second turbine in the Dam to generate electricity. It also announced the completion of the third phase of filling the reservoir, which was met with an Egyptian-Sudanese protest.
A few weeks ago, satellite images showed Ethiopian preparations to start the fourth filling of the GERD ahead of the rainy season next summer.
