In a speech on 15 July to kick-start a national project, “Decent Life” (حياه كريمة), Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stated that the country’s national security is a “red line” that cannot be crossed. It’s not the first time the former chief of military intelligence has warned against testing the nation’s threshold when it comes to matters of national security and sovereignty. But this warning came ten days after Ethiopia began the second filling of its contentious Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD).
“I want to make it clear that your concerns about the GERD are legitimate, but we need to address this topic calmly… It is not because we practice wise politics [or] that we [prioritise] peace, that we allow in any way or form, the jeopardy of our national interests,” said the Egyptian president in his address, before adding that the state can use varied options to protect itself.
