An Egyptian official source on Saturday slammed a social media post by Ethiopia’s water minister regarding Egypt’s Aswan High Dam, describing it as “shameful” and saying it reflects political confusion.
The source, from the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, said “responding to such nonsense and the political confusion reflected in the post would be nothing more than a waste of time.”
The post was “a desperate attempt to divert attention from the core dispute: Ethiopia’s continued unilateral actions over its illegal dam, which violate international law,” the source added.
Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy Habtamu Itefa argued in a post published earlier Saturday and later deleted that Egypt built the Aswan High Dam without Ethiopia’s consent, according to Ethiopia’s official ENA news agency.
“Before criticizing Ethiopia, Egypt should explain why it built the Aswan High Dam without Ethiopian consent,” Habtamu said, drawing a parallel between the history of the Aswan project and the current debate over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
He also cited what he described as historical records documenting Ethiopian objections to the lack of broader consultation over the Aswan project and earlier Nile water arrangements, but provided no evidence to support the claims.
- Geographical Fact
GERD dispute
Egypt has repeatedly affirmed Ethiopia’s right to development and the use of its water resources, provided that such projects do not affect Egypt’s water rights.
Egypt and Sudan have called on Ethiopia to reach a binding legal agreement governing the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to safeguard their water interests.
Addis Ababa has rejected the demand, citing its “sovereign right” to development.
The two downstream countries have raised concerns that unilateral and uncoordinated filling and operation of the GERD, a mega-dam on the Blue Nile with a reservoir capacity of about 74 billion cubic meters, could affect their water security and interests, particularly during periods of drought.
Egypt relies on the Nile for about 98% of its renewable water resources.
Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly stressed that they do not oppose development in Ethiopia, while calling for a binding agreement governing the GERD’s filling and operation.
The GERD was officially inaugurated in September 2025 despite the concerns of Egypt and Sudan, further escalating the longstanding dispute between the three countries.
‘Shameful and politically confused’
The Egyptian ministry source described Itefa’s post as “shameful.”
“The more pertinent question is: Why did the Ethiopian minister delete his shameful post about the Aswan High Dam from his Facebook account?” the source said.
The source added the deletion revealed “political confusion and poor judgment.”