CAIRO/ADDIS ABABA (Dispatches) -- Ethiopia’s water minister renewed accusations that Egypt built the Aswan High Dam and other water projects without adequately considering upstream interests.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Water and Energy Habtamu Itefa said in remarks published by the state-run Ethiopian News Agency on Saturday that Egypt had “undertaken several water development projects without adequately considering Ethiopia’s interests, including the construction of the Aswan High Dam and other water-transfer schemes”. 
He said that Ethiopia contributes over 86 percent of the Nile’s water and that upstream countries have the right to utilize their resources for development.
Itefa also said that Egypt’s political rhetoric over the Nile is partly intended to divert public attention from domestic challenges and create the impression that the government is protecting national interests. 
He called on Cairo to engage Ethiopia and all Nile Basin countries in “meaningful negotiations and cooperation based on mutual understanding, compromise and the recognition of the legitimate development interests of all Nile Basin countries”.
The Ethiopian minister’s remarks were published on Saturday, the same day Egypt’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had affirmed during talks with Emirati counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed and U.S. Senior Advisor Massad Boulos “the parameters of Egypt’s water security, the necessity of adhering to the rules of international law, and the rejection of unilateral measures on the Nile”. 
The talks were held on the sidelines of the Sir Bani Yas Forum in the UAE, which runs from November 13 to 15.
The exchange marks a continuation of the long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Ethiopia inaugurated in September 2025. 
Egypt and Sudan demand a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, fearing its impact on their water security, while Ethiopia maintains the project is for electricity generation and does not harm downstream states.