Hydro politics scholar and a negotiator for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Professor Yacob Arsano said that Egypt's greedy stance on the Nile issue violates the fundamental principles of the African Union.

Professor Yacob Arsano is a researcher in Political Science and International Relations at Addis Ababa University with extensive research experience in water politics. He has also served as a negotiator on Ethiopia's side in the trilateral negotiations over the GERD.

Speaking to ENA, he remarked that the regime in Egypt is a disruptive entity that does not prioritize cooperation, consultation, or shared water utilization. He noted that Egypt's position claiming sole ownership and benefit over the Nile River—despite contributing not a single drop of water to it—is erroneous and serves as an obstacle to joint water development.

The Professor particularly highlighted that Egypt's obsession with seeking third-party mediation violates the AU principle of "African solutions to African problems" and demonstrates a lack of intent to work cooperatively with basin nations. He added that its recent propaganda push is merely a continuation of this flawed stance.

Pointing out that over 86% of the Nile River's water originates from Ethiopia, Professor Yacob stated that Ethiopia's water diplomacy remains rooted in joint development, equitable utilization, and cooperation. He stressed that Egypt's greedy stance and rhetoric will not prevent Ethiopia from developing and utilizing its water resources.

GERD’s construction, filling, and management have been conducted in accordance with international conventions and the Nile Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), with documents and actions proving it causes no significant harm to downstream countries, he underlined.

The Professor further stated that as Ethiopia is only at the beginning of its water development journey, it holds the sovereign right to execute additional water development projects in the Nile basin beyond the GERD—without needing permission from anyone.

“Ethiopia’s water resources remain largely underdeveloped, yet they will be central to the country’s future economic growth and development,” he noted, stressing that the country’s water resources remain largely untapped for agriculture, power generation, tourism and other productive sectors, the renowned scholar said.

He noted that Ethiopia’s future growth and development will inevitably depend, in significant part, on its ability to effectively harness and utilize its water resources on Abay (Nile) River.

“Therefore, its right to utilize its water resources is guaranteed,” the professor said.

Professor Yacob further emphasized that the Ethiopian government and its people are determined to turn that right into reality.

Yacob stressed that Ethiopia does not require permission from Egypt to develop its own water resources.

“Fundamentally, no one is waiting for Egypt to grant permission,” he said, adding that Ethiopia has never sought Egypt’s permission to utilize and develop its water resources and will not do so in the future.

At the same time, he emphasized that Ethiopia’s assertion of its sovereign development rights does not rule out cooperation.

“The door remains open if Egypt comes to its senses and returns to negotiations,” Prof. Yacob said.

He added that Ethiopia’s position is broadly shared by other upstream Abay (Nile) Basin countries, which maintain their right to utilize their water resources for development while remaining open to cooperation based on dialogue and mutual benefit.

Ethiopia’s approach, he said, is therefore anchored in two principles: the sovereign right to develop its water resources and the willingness to cooperate for shared benefit.

Ethiopia has planned to consolidate the momentum created by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) by expanding investment in additional mega dams on the Abay River.

In his recent interview, Water and Energy Minister Habtamu Itefa said: “Ethiopia does not need permission from anyone to develop its water resources as it is a sovereign country,”.

“Who said that we need permission from anyone? Ethiopia is a sovereign country... Look, we built the GERD without the permission, and we will also build other dams on other river basins whenever the needs arise,” he elaborated.