Egypt draws ‘red line’ on water, will not concede a drop: Foreign minister

CAIRO – 28 December 2025: Egypt said it has set "red lines that cannot be crossed," including any concession of its share of Nile water, which it described as “an existential issue.”

“The Egyptian state has set a number of red lines that cannot be tolerated or overlooked,” Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in an interview with broadcaster Emad El-Din Adeeb.

He singled out a red line on “not conceding a single drop of water” from Egypt’s share of the Nile.

“This is an existential matter,” he stressed.

Abdelatty highlighted existential threats as well as other threats that directly affect national security and the country’s borders, adding that Cairo would deal decisively with any attempt to cross those red lines.

“The state has effective tools ... and acts with the required firmness and resolve whenever its vital interests, national security or existential interests are threatened,” he said.

He added that Egypt conducts its foreign policy with “the required wisdom and prudence, without compromising its rights.”

‘Egypt to Respond If Harmed’

Abdelatty’s remarks come while Egypt has been objecting to Ethiopia’s unilateral measures on its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a mega dam capable of holding up to 74 billion cubic meters of water.

Egypt and Sudan, two downstream countries of the Nile, have raised concerns that unilateral and uncoordinated filling and operation of GERD could affect their water security and interests, particularly during periods of drought or flooding.

Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 98% of its renewable water resources, has warned that it will not accept any infringement on, or relinquishment of, a single drop of its Nile water share.

The foreign minister stated last week that any damage to Egypt resulting from the Ethiopian dam project would be met with a response under international law, in line with the country’s right to self-defense.

The two downstream countries have long affirmed that they are not against development in Ethiopia but called for a binding legal agreement governing the operation and filling of the dam to secure their water interests.

However, the upstream country has persistently rejected this demand, bringing the curtain down on more than a decade of talks.

The Ethiopian dam built over the Blue Nile was officially inaugurated in September despite Egypt and Sudan concerns, causing the dispute between the three countries to soar.

In October, Egypt accused Ethiopia of creating a “man-made flood” that put the lives and resources of populations in the two downstream countries at risk, citing “hasty and uncoordinated filling” of the recently inaugurated dam.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi told African officials this month that Egypt has no dispute with Ethiopia.

However, Egypt’s sole demand is that its rights to Nile water rights are not affected and that a legally binding agreement is reached regarding the dam, the president stressed.