Addis Ababa, August 19, 2026 (FMC) — The successful completion and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) offers practical proof that Ethiopia can harness the Abay (Blue Nile) for national development without harming downstream countries, Director-General of the GERD Project Public Coordination Office, Aregawi Berhe, said.
Aregawi said GERD has fundamentally changed the long-standing understanding of equitable utilization of the Abay, demonstrating that Ethiopia’s water-development efforts can serve its national interests while producing tangible benefits for the wider region.
He said the dam has not harmed any country and has instead contributed to regional energy integration, providing practical evidence that the development of the Abay can advance national development and regional cooperation simultaneously.
The Abay, he stressed, is a shared resource of the Nile Basin countries and should be utilized through cooperation rather than treated as the exclusive property of Egypt.
Aregawi said Egypt’s continued rejection of the practical realities surrounding GERD has been accompanied by a renewed campaign of misinformation aimed at creating confusion over Ethiopia’s legitimate efforts to develop its water resources.
Ethiopia’s primary objective is to pursue development through cooperation, he said, emphasizing that the country seeks to harness its water resources while advancing shared prosperity across the region.
He noted that the construction of GERD demonstrated what Ethiopians can achieve through collective effort, national mobilization and public participation, adding that the experience has generated valuable lessons for future development projects.
Aregawi told local news agency ENA that Ethiopia now has both the capacity and readiness to build additional dams and further harness its water resources for national development.
He added that the experience gained in coordinating public participation during GERD’s construction would provide important input for similar large-scale development projects in the future.