Link to article: https://allafrica.com/stories/202509040514.html
Ethiopia has been planning the building and grand opening of the GERD (Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) since 2011, and is set to have its grand opening on September 9th. This dam could possibly have extremely negative consequences for the countries downstream of Ethiopia, mainly being Sudan and Egypt. A joint statement from Sudan and Egypt was released on September 3rd denouncing the use of the dam. This Statement was released following the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ending collaboration with the two countries on matters involving the dam. Ethiopia claims that the dam will not cause any lasting damage to the water supply of the Nile in Sudan and Egypt, with the main purpose of the dam being the hydropower generation. Of course Sudan and Egypt find this claim to be untrustworthy, and this could possibly lead to a military conflict.
This conflict of interest has been a long time coming, with Ethiopia ´ s plan to build this dam on the Nile dating far back. Ethiopia has for a long amount of time dealt with drought and low electricity supply, so this dam is Ethiopia ´ s way to solve these common issues. Although this dam seems to have a lot of immediate positives, it clashes with Egyptian and Sudanese interests. Both Egypt and Sudan rely on the water from the Nile, and if a huge portion of that source is taken away their people and economies could be in danger. With this in mind Egypt and Sudan have to act if they want to ensure the stability of their respective countries. Meanwhile, Ethiopia has every incentive to improve its economy and wealth of its people, but Ethiopia´s decision to leave Egypt and Sudan out of the conversation could have grave consequences for the country. It is likely that Egypt and Sudan will continue to push for more information and conversation with Ethiopia, and if that doesnt happen they will start a conflict.
We have discussed in class topics of economic flow and growth of states, like China and the US ´ s economic rivalry. This conflict over the dam is a very similar topic. Ethiopia wants more economic power and control over the region, as well as its own internal interests. So Ethiopia is stopping economic flow to other possible challengers, much like the US blocking China in to stop China ´ s development. This gives another insight to possible reasons and conflicts of interest between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.