Egypt: Former House Speaker Says Egypt Must Align Nile Strategy With 21st Century Realities

What the report says

Former Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives Speaker Teshome Toga urged Egypt to adjust its Nile policy to what he described as the realities of the 21st century, according to an Ethiopian News Agency article carried by AllAfrica. The piece was published from Addis Ababa on 16 September 2026 and presents Toga’s analysis of the Nile Basin as a shared transboundary system shaped by population growth, climate change, energy needs, food insecurity and economic development.

Toga argued that colonial-era assumptions and older bilateral arrangements cannot provide a fair basis for managing the river today. He said Egypt’s reliance on the Nile does not amount to ownership and that upstream and downstream states all have rights that should be recognized through cooperation, equity and mutual respect. The article specifically cites his criticism of the 1959 Egypt-Sudan water agreement, which excluded upstream countries including Ethiopia.

The former speaker also highlighted the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a sign of Ethiopia’s development ambitions and self-reliance. He said efforts to block Ethiopian projects through pressure or financing restrictions would not work, and rejected military confrontation as a solution to Nile disputes.

Toga instead called for negotiations grounded in sovereign equality, reasonable and equitable water use, scientific cooperation and peaceful dispute settlement. The article frames his remarks as a broader appeal for the Nile to be managed as a source of shared prosperity rather than regional tension.