On July 19, 2023, ECFA organized a seminar, convened by Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Hegazy, member of ECFA Board of Directors and coordinator of the Council’s Permanent Committee for Water Resources and Climate Change, in which Dr. Hegazy presented “the developments of the situation related to the Nile waters file and the Renaissance Dam,” in light of the summit meeting that brought together the President of the Republic, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and the Ethiopian Prime Minister on July 13, 2023, on the sidelines of Sudan’s neighboring countries summit, convened by Egypt. The meeting was attended by Ambassadors Marwan Badr, Ezzat Saad, Youssef El-Sharqawy, Atef Sayed Al-Ahl, Aly El-Hefny, Salah Halima, Abdel Moneim Omar, Dr. Hisham Zaazou, Dr. Sayed Fleifel, Dr. Sadeq Abdel-Aal, and Dr. Hazem Atiyatallah.

Ambassador Hegazy presented the developments regarding the relevant situation, noting that the statement of the Ethiopian Prime Minister in this regard includes official assurances that the Nile is a gift from God, and that this statement represents a commitment on the part of the Ethiopian official not to harm Egypt’s water interests, and pledged to launch the relevant negotiations within four months. However, Ambassador Hegazy stressed that communication in order to launch negotiations during this period does not mean stopping the fourth filling carried out by the Ethiopian government. Hence, the statement leads to a kind of cautious optimism for both Cairo and Sudan. Anyways, among the scenarios proposed in this regard are the following: reaching a binding legal agreement, either defining the relationship with the Renaissance Dam or the relationship with the various dams from Lake Tana to the Renaissance Dam; Summoning the UN Security Council, and working in accordance with the United Nations Charter, to defend Egypt’s rights and national security.