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Middle East Focus is a weekly podcast featuring talk and analysis on U.S. foreign policy, contemporary political and social issues in the Middle East, and the arts and culture of region. It is produced by the Middle East Institute, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. For more information visit www.mei.edu.

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  2. Water and Power: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia at Odds Over Africa’s Largest Dam

Water and Power: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia at Odds Over Africa’s Largest Dam

Oct 2, 2025

In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Mirette F. Mabrouk to unpack the growing tensions over the recently inaugurated Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile. With no water-sharing agreement with Ethiopia in place after decades of negotiations, what options remain for downstream Egypt and Sudan? The discussion explores the political, economic, and security stakes of the dispute, prospects for averting open conflict, and what the issue reveals about the shifting balance of power in the Horn of Africa.

This episode was recorded on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.