{"id":179490,"date":"2026-10-06T10:14:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T14:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/?p=179490"},"modified":"2026-10-06T14:00:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:00:50","slug":"ethiopia-says-its-nile-and-red-sea-interests-cannot-be-changed-after-egypt-eritrea-somalia-and-sudan-issue-el-alamein-declaration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/179490","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia Says Its Nile and Red Sea Interests Cannot Be Changed After Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan Issue El Alamein Declaration"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ethiopian Government said on Monday that its claims on the Blue Nile and the Red Sea \u201ccannot be altered by political rhetoric, coercive measures, or acts of destabilisation.\u201d That came a day after the leaders of Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan met in Egypt and issued a joint declaration that touched on both issues.<\/p>\n

\"Al
Al Masa Capital Hotel in New Alamein City, Egypt, 1 July 2021, Abdelrhman 1990 \/ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). [file photo]<\/em><\/p>\n

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi hosted Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudan\u2019s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who chairs the Transitional Sovereignty Council, in New Alamein City on Sunday. Their El Alamein Joint Declaration, published by the Egyptian presidency, said the governance of the Red Sea is \u201cthe exclusive responsibility of the littoral states.\u201d It rejected \u201cany unilateral measures that adversely affect the existing water uses of the two downstream countries of the Nile,\u201d according to an unofficial translation reported by ChimpReports. The four leaders also backed Somalia\u2019s territorial integrity, rejected recognition of Somaliland, supported Sudan\u2019s unity and \u201cnational institutions,\u201d and agreed to set up a mechanism to follow up on the summit and meet again from time to time.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera reported that the declaration appeared to push back against several policies the authorities in Addis Ababa have followed in recent years, including landlocked Ethiopia\u2019s search for sovereign access to the sea and a naval presence, and its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Egypt and Sudan have long disputed.<\/p>\n

The response came from Ethiopia\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement carried by the Ethiopian News Agency and Anadolu Agency. ChimpReports noted that it did not name the summit or the four leaders. The ministry said the Abay River, known as the Blue Nile, starts in Ethiopia\u2019s highlands and contributes about 85 percent of the Nile\u2019s total flow, and that \u201cany discussion concerning the utilisation and management of the Abay River should be informed by these fundamental realities.\u201d On the sea, it said, \u201cDespite changes in political boundaries over time, Ethiopia remains closely connected to the Red Sea, with its nearest border lying barely 30 miles from the coast.\u201d It said any serious talk about regional maritime security \u201cmust account for Ethiopia\u2019s legitimate interests and its enduring connection to the Red Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ministry also warned that \u201cactions taken through proxies or acts of aggression will not change the facts on the ground, nor will they diminish Ethiopia\u2019s legitimate interests, role, and responsibilities in the region.\u201d It did not say which actors it meant. The federal government in Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing the seven-group armed alliance, which includes the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front and Fano forces in Amhara, that has been fighting federal troops since late September. All three countries deny it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be very clear, we are not party to the domestic crisis facing Ethiopia now. It has nothing to do with us,\u201d Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told Reuters on Sunday before the meeting. Eritrea\u2019s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel wrote on X on Sunday that Addis Ababa was trying to create a pretext for attacking Eritrea, Al Jazeera reported. Before the talks, el-Sisi said the region\u2019s cross-border problems needed \u201cdialogue, not confrontation,\u201d according to AFP.<\/p>\n

Somalia\u2019s Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told Al Jazeera on Saturday that Mogadishu does not object to Ethiopia getting commercial access through Somali ports, as long as it is agreed with Somalia.<\/p>\n

In the same statement the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said the country stands ready to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests, and it urged neighbors to follow \u201cthe principles of good neighbourliness\u201d and to avoid \u201cconfrontation and zero-sum approaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ethiopia lost its coastline when Eritrea became independent in 1993, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s campaign for access to the sea has raised fears in Asmara about the port of Assab. Relations between the two countries broke down last week, when the Ethiopian federal government closed its embassy in Asmara and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave, and Eritrea answered by cutting diplomatic ties. Zegabi reported on that break at https:\/\/www.zegabi.com\/articles\/179445. Egypt and Sudan have asked for years for a binding agreement on how the dam on the Blue Nile is filled and run, and the dam was inaugurated in September 2025.<\/p>\n

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