Italy Offers to Mediate Egypt-Ethiopia Nile Dispute

Italy has offered to help broker talks between Egypt and Ethiopia over their long-running dispute regarding Nile water rights. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani made the proposal during talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in El Alamein. Tajani stressed that any resolution must be fair, sustainable, and grounded in international law, adding that Rome’s ties with Addis Ababa could help facilitate dialogue if both sides agree. Egypt regards the water issue as existential, with Abdelatty stressing the importance of preventing unilateral measures and avoiding harm to downstream countries. Italy’s mediation offer adds a new outside player to a dispute that has simmered for years over Ethiopia’s dam project on the Nile, which Addis Ababa considers crucial to Ethiopia’s development. While it offers another channel for international engagement, Ethiopia’s willingness to accept mediation remains crucial. In the longer term, any durable settlement would need to balance Ethiopia’s development interests with Egypt’s water-security concerns.