Aljazeera published on 9 September 2025 an article and two and one-half minute video titled "Ethiopia Inaugurates GERD Dam Amid Downstream Tensions with Egypt, Sudan."
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on 9 September in the presence of the leaders of Kenya and Somalia. Leaders of Egypt and Sudan continued to express their fears that the dam will threaten their country's water security.
IntelliNews published on 7 September 2025 an article titled "Ethiopia Set to Inaugurate $4bn Mega-Dam as Egypt, Sudan Renew Strong Objections" by Brian Kenety.
Ethiopia is inaugurating on 9 September the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the largest hydro dam in Africa. Downstream Sudan and Egypt continue to oppose construction of the dam, arguing it undermines their historic rights to Nile water flows guaranteed under colonial-era treaties to which Ethiopia was not a party.
The Egyptian newspaper Dostar published on 2 August 2025 an interview with me on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and Egypt-Ethiopia relations.
The questions were submitted to me in English and answered in English. Dostar translated them into Arabic. The interview indicates that I am the former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, which is not the case. I served as the former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia.
The Nanyang Technological University posted on 29 July 2025 an article titled "Ethiopia Wraps Up Construction of Africa's Largest Hydro Project."
Ethiopia has completed construction on the Blue Nile of the $4.2 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Africa's largest hydroelectric project. In addition to meeting domestic demand for electricity, Ethiopia is now selling it to Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, and Tanzania. The article comes with an excellent picture of the completed dam.
Comment: This article makes the same mistake that most reporting makes on this topic by stating that the Blue Nile provides 85 percent of the Nile River's total flow. The Blue Nile contributes closer to 55 percent of the Nile River's flow. A combination of the Blue Nile, the Tekeze that feeds directly into the Nile, and the Sobat that feeds into the White Nile contribute about 85 percent of the Nile River's flow. The Blue Nile is the single most important source of water for the Nile. All three of these rivers originate in Ethiopia. Their names change as they cross international borders.
The blog of Lawrence Freeman posted on 24 July 2025 an article titled "The Legacy & Vision of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam."
The article examines the historical context of Nile water usage, the roles played by four Ethiopian leaders in advancing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and the dam's prospects for aiding Ethiopia's sovereignty and prosperity.
The BBC posted on 23 July 2025 an article titled "Ethiopian Official Denies Donald Trump's Claim that US Funded River Nile Dam" by Wedaeli Chibelushi.
President Trump asserted in a meeting last week that "US money largely" funded the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. An Ethiopian official responded that Ethiopia built the dam "without any foreign aid." The money came from Ethiopian bonds sold to companies, pledges from Ethiopian government civil service salaries, and donations from the Ethiopian diaspora.
Comment: I am not aware of any US government funding for the dam. The Ethiopian diaspora in the United States made a modest but not precisely known contribution to GERD funding.
Ethiopia Insight published on 16 July 2025 a commentary titled "Red Sea Reckonings: Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Unraveling of Pretoria" by Dahilon Yassin Mohamoda.
The Pretoria Agreement, signed in 2022, has not resulted in stability in Ethiopia. Instead, alliances are fraying, old rivalries are reigniting, and fragile new fault lines are emerging. A deterioration in Ethiopia's relations with Eritrea follows an effort by Addis Ababa to develop an outlet to the Red Sea.
Financial Afrik published on 6 July 2025 an article titled "Ethiopia Completes the Grand Renaissance Dam: $4 Billion Funded 'On Its Own'."
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on 3 August that the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has been completed and will be inaugurated in September. It is the largest hydropower dam in Africa and was funded by the Ethiopian government through national bonds and contributions from patriotic campaigns and deductions from civil service salaries.
Freeman's Africa and the World posted on 13 June 2025 an article titled "Completed Ethiopia Dam -- GERD Can Power East African Nations" by Lawrence Freeman.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is scheduled to be inaugurated in September, making it the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa and the 17th largest in the world. It will have the capacity to generate 5,150 megawatts of electricity. In addition to providing power for Ethiopia, it will sell power to Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan, and possibly Tanzania.
AEI's Critical Threats Africa File published on 13 March 2025 an analysis titled "Looming Civil War in Africa."
A battle for legitimacy between the Tigray People's Liberation Movement (TPLF) and the Tigray Interim Administration (TIA) threatens to ignite a war in Tigray Region that could escalate into a proxy or regional war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The South China Morning Post published on 28 January 2025 an article titled "China's Strategy for Peace in Horn of Africa Is Slow-going, But Will It Ever Reap Rewards?" by Jevans Nyabiage.
Questions remain whether China's emphasis on dialogue and development will ever bring peace to the conflict prone Horn of Africa.
Ethiopia Insight published on 17 December 2024 a commentary titled "Will the New Trump Administration Act on Tigray?" by Mulugeta Gebregziabher, Medical University of South Carolina.
The author speculates on the policy the Trump administration will pursue vis-a-vis Ethiopia, concluding it will not vary much from Trump's first administration but may have an even greater focus on countering Russia and China in Ethiopia and Africa generally.
World Politics Review published on 31 October 2024 a commentary titled "Egypt's Future Increasingly Passes Through the Horn of Africa" by Francisco Serrano.
With both its water resources from upstream Nile River countries such as Ethiopia and Suez Canal revenue now dependent on events in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea, this region has become a strategic focus for Egypt.
The Hill published on 28 October 2024 a commentary titled "Shifting Alliances in the Horn of Africa: An Egypt-Eritrea-Somalia Axis" by Imran Khalid.
The author argues that the recent summit in Asmara of Egypt, Eritrea, and Somalia was an effort "to encircle Ethiopia." Egypt, frustrated with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, may be positioning itself for a proxy war, using Eritrea to destabilize its neighbor.
The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Addis Ababa published on 17 October 2024 an analysis titled "Nile River Basin Commission: Regional Strife Could Make a Difficult Task Impossible" by Moses Chrispus Okello, ISS.
Regional conflicts, especially those involving Somalia provoked by Ethiopia's memorandum of conversation with Somaliland, have complicated any attempt to reach agreement on Nile water issues by the Nile River Basin Commission.
The South China Morning Post published on 21 October 2024 an article titled "Ethiopian Dam Could Muddy the Waters of China's Position as a Global Leader" by Jevans Nyabiage.
Ethiopia and Egypt have long been disputing the construction by Addis Ababa of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Ethiopia and Egypt are also among the newest members of BRICS, which will soon meet in Russia. China, also a member of BRICS, has close ties with Ethiopia and Egypt and may be seen as the party for resolving the differences between the two. This is not a position that China relishes.
The National Interest published on 9 October 2024 a commentary titled "Egypt in Somalia: Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick" by Mohamed Farid, member of the Egyptian Senate, and Mohamed Maher, Egyptian journalist based in the US.
The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) is scheduled to take over from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) by January 2025. Egypt is supplying weapons, equipment, and training to the Somali National Army.
The authors argue that Egypt's involvement in Somalia is driven by its interest in maintaining regional stability and countering al-Shabaab terrorism. They acknowledge, however, that Egypt is concerned by Ethiopia's "expansionist policies" that "threaten Somali sovereignty."
Foreign Policy published on 16 October 2024 a commentary titled "The Anti-Ethiopia Alliance Takes Shape" by Nosmot Gbadamosi.
The author argues that Egypt is aligning with Eritrea and Somalia to counter Ethiopia, but a direct conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia is unlikely with the Somali National Army preoccupied by its fight against al-Shabaab.
African Arguments published on 6 October 2024 an analysis titled "Ethiopia's Quest for a Seaport, Egypt and the Geopolitics of the Nile Basin" by Mohamed Kheir Omer.
This piece reviews the historical animosity between Ethiopia and Egypt, concluding that only renewed dialogue and mutual compromise can pave the way for lasting peace and stability in the region.
The Diplomat published on 12 October 2024 a commentary titled "Boiling 54 Eggs: China's Approach to Africa" by Peter Krasnopolsky, University of Nottingham.
The author concluded that China's engagement in Africa is becoming more decentralized. He added that Beijing's "win-win" rhetoric in Africa is under question.
