Sudan has rejected an Arab League resolution, expressing support for Cairo in negotiations with Addis Ababa on Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a move that raised eyebrows in the Arab League and alarmed Egyptian authorities. 

The Arab League statement — the outcome of deliberations at a regular session of the Arab Foreign Ministers Council held March 5 — expressed the pan-Arab bloc's rejection of “any form of infringement on Egypt's historical rights to the waters of the River Nile.” The statement further stressed the need for Ethiopia “to adhere to the principles of international law,” noting that “Egyptian water security is an integral part of Arab national security.”

 The resolution, put forth by Egypt, was endorsed by all countries in the 22-member state organization, save for Sudan. An initial draft statement had cited the historical rights of both Egypt and Sudan to Nile waters; but Sudan, in a surprise move, requested that its name be removed from the text, saying it had not been consulted by Egypt. 

An Arab League source who spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity denied that Sudan had not been consulted, insisting that the Sudanese diplomatic mission in Cairo had been handed the draft document March 1 (four days before the meeting). “But we received no response from the Sudanese side prior to the meeting,” he lamented.