Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has issued a powerful assurance: Ethiopia’s massive Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is being built to help, not to harm, its downstream neighbors.

The Prime Minister declared that the project is not a weapon, but a tool built on the fundamental principles of fairness and a shared future for all. “We shouldn’t hurt others to benefit ourselves,” he stated, making a moral case for the dam’s purpose. “God gave us the big, ever-flowing Abay because he believed that we would use it fairly.” His words were a direct attempt to silence critics and calm fears that Ethiopia’s development would come at Egypt’s expense.

In a powerful moment of reassurance, Abiy Ahmed stated that his teams have been carefully studying the river’s flow everyday and the amount of water reaching Egypt has not gone down.

His message direct: "Not a single liter of water has been reduced."

The Prime Minister concluded stressing his hope for a future where everyone benefits. "Egypt’s dams should be full, and they should be happy," he said. He stressed that it would also be unfair for Ethiopia to not use its resources for its own people, but that this must be done while ensuring its neighbors also benefit.