Two of the world’s and Africa’s oldest kingdoms have long unwittingly vied for dominance and influence on the motherland. And though cultural and economic ties seem to have brought Egypt and Ethiopia together on some level, the two power players are at odds regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). But could it be a show of muscles at a time international businesses are rushing to invest in Africa? Or, is it a conflict over limited water and energy resources?
Egypt’s diminishing influence in the Middle East and North Africa might provide a context for the country’s strife for power and sway over the African continent. After Abdel Fattah al-Sissi rose to power at a hefty expense, Egypt’s economy shrunk and crumbled in a way it hasn’t as severely under the former autocratic rule of Mubarak. Less economic opportunities coupled with the regime’s crack-down on freedoms isolated Egypt and diminished its role in the region.
Having been distant from other African countries, especially culturally, al-Sissi’s Egypt rekindled its relations with the continent through a number of initiatives and investments. Its announced and unannounced intentions are palpable. Egypt’s hegemonic relations with countries like Sudan and Eritrea are a strong ground to Sissi’s desire to have a more sturdy role than that in the Middle East.
