Addis Ababa, November 5, 2026 (FMC) – Ethiopia has never sought another country’s permission or blessing to develop its water resources and will never do so, Minister of Water and Energy Engineer Habtamu Itefa has declared, reaffirming the country’s sovereign right to build dams and use its rivers for national development.
Speaking exclusively to Fana Media Corporation, the Minister said Ethiopia’s position was demonstrated through its actual development projects, particularly the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which he described as a symbol of national pride and unity.
“Ethiopia is a sovereign country. We never asked anyone’s blessing to develop our water projects, and we will never ask anyone,” he said.
He described the GERD as “Adwa No. 2,” saying Ethiopia had overcome what he characterized as a longstanding Egyptian conspiracy to prevent the country from developing its water resources through the Abbay River and its tributaries.
The Minister also cited other dam projects as evidence of Ethiopia’s continued determination to harness its water resources. He said a dam recently inaugurated by the Prime Minister and another project on a tributary of Lake Tana demonstrated that Ethiopia was proceeding with its development plans without seeking external approval.
Rejecting Egypt’s assertions that Ethiopia had undertaken unilateral action, he argued that Ethiopia had been excluded from colonial-era Nile arrangements and that the country did not recognize those agreements as binding on its sovereign development rights.
He said Egypt and Sudan could not invoke those arrangements to deny Ethiopia the right to build dams, particularly when Ethiopia contributes 86 percent of the Nile’s water.
The Minister also rejected Egyptian politicians’ claims that Ethiopia’s water projects threaten Egypt, saying Ethiopia had no intention of preventing the river from flowing downstream.
“We are not going to stop the water from flowing to Egypt. We believe this river is for everyone,” he said.
He further stressed that Ethiopia’s water development was driven by the needs of its more than 130 million people, including the requirements for irrigation, hydropower generation, fisheries and other activities essential to improving livelihoods.
Addressing the forthcoming UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi, the Minister said Ethiopia would present its position with technical evidence, demonstrating that its development projects are intended to generate benefits beyond its borders.
He said Ethiopia’s vision of prosperity includes neighbouring countries, including Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea, and that the country’s water resources should serve as a foundation for regional cooperation rather than conflict.
The Minister reiterated that Ethiopia would continue developing its water resources without seeking permission from Egypt or any other country, while pursuing a shared vision of prosperity across the region.