MFA Ethiopia Tells Egypt to Retire Colonial-Era Playbook of Rhetoric, Urges Good-Faith Cooperation on Abbay River

Addis Ababa, December 3, 2025 (FMC) — Ethiopia has condemned Egypt’s repeated threats and refusal to engage in meaningful negotiations over the Nile, calling Cairo’s approach a “colonial-era playbook” and urging cooperation for shared development.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement issued today that Egypt’s repeated statements “categorically rejecting dialogue” and issuing “veiled and not so veiled threats” reflect the failure of Cairo to come to terms with the realities of the 21st century.

The ministry accused some Egyptian officials of acting as if they have a monopoly over the Nile, invoking colonial-era treaties and claims of “historical rights.”

It said Egypt seeks “pliant, weak and fragmented client states that would do Cairo’s bidding” through campaigns of destabilization in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, calling the approach “a failure of imagination and leadership.” “It is time to retire this obsolete playbook that has never cowed Ethiopia,” the statement added.

The ministry highlighted Ethiopia’s long history of Pan-Africanism and support for anti-colonial struggles, noting the country’s ancient civilization and African solidarity. It said Ethiopia “has no room to accommodate the vestiges of colonialism that Cairo is finding difficult to eschew.”

On the Nile, MoFA stressed Ethiopia’s sovereign right to use the Abbay (Blue Nile), which originates in the Ethiopian highlands and contributes about 86% of the Nile’s waters, with its watershed covering 70% of Ethiopia’s surface water.

“Ethiopia, like all other riparian states, has a right to utilize this natural resource,” the ministry said, adding that Ethiopia “has no obligation to seek permission from anyone to use natural resources found within its borders.”

The statement said Egypt’s refusal to engage in dialogue has now become overt. “Egypt has rejected dialogue and is doubling down on its hostile rhetoric with a clear intention to orchestrate an escalation,” it said, noting that Cairo had previously pretended to negotiate while obstructing progress.

MoFA called on all concerned actors to denounce what it described as irresponsible behavior and highlighted Ethiopia’s development projects, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), as embodiments of African self-reliance and progress.

“Learning to live with Ethiopia’s development and a commitment to work in good faith towards a cooperative framework for shared prosperity and development will be the wiser course of action rather than the posturing and rhetoric that are keeping Cairo busy,” it said.

The ministry reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to fair and equitable use of the Nile and emphasized cooperation over confrontation.

“What the world needs, what Africa needs is more cooperation and dialogue not confrontation and conflict. Ethiopia stands firm in assertion of its right to utilize the Abbay River to meet the needs of present and future generations and its openness for win-win solutions based on principles of fairness and equity,” it concluded.