Addis ababa: For thousands of years, the mighty Abay River has flowed through the heart of Africa, carrying with it not just life-giving water, the soil, minerals and above all the aspirations and destinies of millions of Ethiopians. Today, Abay River is generating light at Guba, Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region. The previous era of Egyptian domination on independent African nation’s destiny has closed, and a new era of African self-determination is beginning to emerge.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, Egypt has shown open hostility to Ethiopia under the pretext that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) would stop water flowing to downstream states. This claim is untrue. The centuries-old strategic hostility towards Ethiopia is rooted in Egypt’s determination to maintain a monopoly over the river’s flow. The GERD is not the cause of this hostility.
Throughout history, Egypt has made efforts to destabilize Ethiopia. Covert and overt conspiracies aimed to disrupt Ethiopia’s progress. Despite contr
ibuting over 86 percent of the Nile Water, Egypt has conspired against Ethiopia. Historically, Egypt and Sudan partitioned the Nile waters without allowing Ethiopia to utilize water from the Abay River. Egypt has provided training, ammunition, and logistics to violent groups to destabilize Ethiopia.
Egypt has consistently tried to impose coercion over Ethiopia, turning ancient hostility into a tool to halt Ethiopian progress, keeping the nation poor and weak. Egypt lobbied international financial institutions to deny Ethiopia financing for major development projects. This economic warfare aimed to keep Ethiopia impoverished and unstable.
Cairo’s policies also included supporting rebel movements to disrupt Ethiopia’s development. With the completion of the GERD, Egypt has escalated tensions in the Horn of Africa, interfering in Sudan with grave consequences for the Sudanese people.
When Ethiopia laid the foundation for the GERD in 2011, it was not just building Africa’s largest hydroelectric project but als
o asserting its right to utilize its resources independently. The GERD symbolizes African countries’ natural right to develop their resources.
Egypt’s response was predictable, attempting to strangle the project. However, Ethiopians rallied behind the GERD, making it a symbol of African self-reliance. Egypt’s attempts only strengthened Ethiopian resolve.
The argument that the GERD threatens Egypt is unsubstantiated. The volume of water lost to evaporation in Egypt’s reservoirs exceeds what Ethiopia needs for development. Lake Nasser alone loses more water to evaporation each year than all of Ethiopia’s planned dam projects combined would divert. The real threat to Egypt’s water security is its inefficiency and colonial mindset.
Present-day Ethiopia is rising, with the GERD already generating electricity and inspiring African nations. The time for ancient enmity and hegemony is over. Egypt must choose cooperation over confrontation. The way forward is cooperation, not aggression.