At the heart of political and strategic issues in Africa, the very first scientific conference of the 2024-2025 cultural season of the Center for Research and Studies on the Middle East is being held, entitled “Ethiopian Policies and Their Impact on Africa”. This event brought together many Egyptian and Arab researchers, including the Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of African Studies at Cairo University, Mahmoud Zakaria, and the Director of the Center, Hatem al-Abd.
This conference, held under the high patronage of the President of Ain Shams University, Mohamed Diaa Zein al-Abedin, focused on the crucial importance of closely studying Ethiopian policies and their impact on Egyptian and African national security, particularly in terms of water-related policies.
Al-Abd stressed that these water policies pursued by Ethiopia represent a flagrant violation of international laws and standards, undermining the agreements reached on the Nile waters, which oblige upstream countries not to build dams or take measures that could alter the shares of downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan). He recalled that Egypt always supports the development efforts of African countries, but will firmly oppose any measure that affects its right to the Nile waters, a historical right that cannot be questioned.
Furthermore, Mahmoud Zakaria highlighted the internal unrest in Ethiopia, marked by the alternation of regimes in power and clashes between the government led by Abiy Ahmed and opposition groups with various orientations. He denounced the maneuvers of the Ethiopian government aimed at creating international crises to divert attention from internal crises and conflicts.
It emerged from his intervention that Ethiopia has adopted policies that could compromise national security in the Middle East, particularly towards Egypt, through the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the breakaway region of Somaliland, thus marking a recognition of its independence from Somalia and its sovereignty in order to obtain an outlet to the Red Sea. A decision that raises concerns about its impact on Egyptian national security.
In conclusion, it is undeniable that one of the most worrying Ethiopian policies is the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which would have adverse consequences on the historical shares of Egypt and Sudan in the Nile waters, enshrined in several internationally recognized historic agreements and treatiesEgypt’s efforts to confront these Ethiopian policies, whether through bilateral talks or within international organizations such as the African Union and the UN Security Council, reflect its determination to preserve its legitimate and ancestral rights over the Nile waters.