Egypt–Ethiopia relations

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2015)

Egyptian-Ethiopian relations

Egypt	Ethiopia

Egypt–Ethiopia relations are the

The first contact between the two people dates back nearly seven thousand years ago when the ancient Egyptians launched their earliest recorded expedition to the Land of Punt under Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty although Punt gold dates back to even earlier times during the rule of King Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty. Ancient Egyptians called this place Ta netjer (The Gods' Land) and viewed it as a mysterious and unknown land of great fortune. They frequently engaged in trade expeditions with their partners in Punt where they acquired gold, incense, ebony, ivory, slaves, exotic animals and skins.^[4]

Egypt under the Muhammad Ali Pasha dynasty attempted to modernize and form an Egyptian empire, engaging in many wars, against the Ottomans, the Sudanese and others. In the 1870s, Egypt invaded Ethiopia resulting in an Ethiopian victory in the resulting Hewett Treaty.

Relations eventually cooled down, and in 1905, Ethiopia first bank was founded in Cairo. During the Second Italian invasion of Ethiopia, Egyptians sympathized with Ethiopia. The Egyptian Red Cross was sent to Ethiopia, while Egyptians denounced the Italian invasion.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

After

Sadat's successor, Hosni Mubarak, sought to repair ties with Ethiopia. Egypt promises neutrality in the Ethiopian civil war^[16]

Religious ties

Religion plays a crucial role in bringing the two countries closer as the

Today, there are over 72 Egyptian investments projects in Ethiopia in the fields of agriculture, livestock production, industry, tourism and real estate. Another project under implementation is an Egyptian industrial zone in the city of

Below is statistical data showing the significant development of trade between the two countries between 2007 and 2009 in million US dollars of value:

Statement/Year	2007	2008	2009
Egyptian exports to Ethiopia	87.4	93.2	129.2
Egyptian imports from Ethiopia	7.5	13.4	16.9
Volume of Trade	94.9	106.6	146.1
Trade Balance	79.9	79.8	112.3
Source: Ethiopian Customs Authority[22]

Nile water

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2023)

Ethiopia accused Egypt with 1929, a British-sponsored treaty between Egypt and some Nile basin colonies, without the participation of Ethiopia, awarded Egypt the right to veto any project that it deems threatening to its water share.^[23] More recently, Ethiopia announced the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project, claiming that would allow it to better exploit its water resources, rejecting the old treaty and stressing that it wasn't a member back then. According to the Egyptian authorities, the dam, if built, would become existential threat to 100 million Egyptians.^[24]

Sameh Shoukry, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt, has also complained about even though Cairo initiated and engaged in painstaking negotiations on the dam to reach a fair and just agreement, those efforts “came to naught”. Indeed, throughout negotiations, Egypt faced an unjustifiable campaign of unfounded claims that Cairo sought to bind parties to agreements from the “dark era of colonialism”, emphasizing that every Nile-related treaty Ethiopia has concluded was signed by its Government and as an independent State, including one involving the Emperor of Abyssinia in 1902 prohibiting construction of any waterworks across the Blue Nile that would affect the river's natural flow.^[25]

Ethiopia turned down several requests from Egypt and Sudan to negotiate a binding agreement, furthering tensions between the two countries.^[26] The resulting dispute over the GERD has soured recent relations, with Egypt threatening war over Ethiopia.^{[27][28][29][30]}

References

Notes