Egypt: We will take all measures to protect our water security
Egyptian Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sweilem said Cairo will take all measures to protect its water security, noting that Egypt depends on the Nile for 98 percent of its needs and suffers water poverty. He said Egypt sought an agreement on the Renaissance Dam without seriousness from Ethiopia, and that Ethiopian statements revealed an intention to control water reaching Egypt and Sudan. Sweilem added that Egypt will use measures permitted by international law and that Ethiopia has done nothing to make the dam legal.
Why it matters: This matters for water security, a central theme of the briefing, because Egypt is positioning the Renaissance Dam as an illegal unilateral threat and reserving legal measures to defend its Nile water share.