Nile Water Security Is Red Line for Egypt, Sisi Declares

Egypt's water security is not up for negotiation, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday, as he laid out the country's position on the Nile at the opening of the ninth Cairo Water Week.

In a recorded address, Sisi explained that Egypt's geographic location and near-total dependence on the Nile make its water situation unique. The river supplies more than 98 percent of the country's renewable water resources, he said.

He set out a framework for regional engagement built on international law, consultation, coordination, good neighbourliness and the principle of doing no harm. Egypt, he said, has deliberately chosen cooperation and dialogue as its approach.

"Egypt respects and supports the right of all Nile Basin countries to development," Sisi stated.

The president also described efforts to build joint projects with southern basin countries in energy, agriculture and irrigation. Egypt, he added, wants to strengthen cooperation in the eastern basin as well, in a way that meets the interests of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Sisi concluded his firm stance with a warning: "Whoever bets that Egypt will accept the status quo or compromise its water security will lose the bet." He reaffirmed that the state will not neglect its responsibility to protect the interests of the Egyptian people.

He urged basin countries to transform the Nile's potential into partnerships that maximise shared gains, protect the rights of every country and keep the river a source of development, prosperity and stability for all its peoples.

The remarks come as Egypt and Sudan, both downstream states, continue to voice concern over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia built on the upper Nile. Trilateral talks on a binding legal agreement covering the dam's filling and operation have run for years without reaching a conclusion.

Ethiopia officially inaugurated the dam in September 2025, arguing that the project will boost electricity production and accelerate economic growth without causing damage to downstream countries.

Cairo Water Week, which takes place over five days through Thursday, is themed "Water as a Catalyst for Peace, Shared Prosperity and a Sustainable Planet." More than 130 sessions are planned, focusing on water security, capacity building and preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference in the United Arab Emirates in December.