Egypt fully rejects Ethiopia’s unilateral measures on Nile, El-Sisi tells Kenya’s Rutto

CAIRO – 12 November 2025: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has reiterated Egypt's supportive stance for development efforts and projects in the Nile Basin countries in a phone call with Kenyan President William Ruto on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, El-Sisi underscored Egypt’s firm rejection of any harm to its water interests and the unilateral measures taken by Ethiopia.

For his part, Ruto emphasized Kenya’s commitment to promoting cooperation and economic integration among Nile Basin countries, ensuring that the interests of any nation are not harmed.

He also expressed appreciation for the support Egypt provides to Kenya in various development sectors.

Egypt and Sudan have long condemned Addis Ababa’s filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) without a legally-binding agreement that ensures the water rights of both downstream nations and protect their populations during the periods of extended drought.

Ethiopia, however, inaugurated the $5 billion mega dam, which in September, which is capable of holding back up to 74 billion cubic meters of water, last September.

In October, the Egyptian Water Resources Ministry blamed Ethiopia for sudden, uncoordinated water releases from the dam recently, which created a “man-made flood” that inundated farmland and villages in Sudan and “placed the lives and resources of the populations of the two downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan) at risk.”