Egypt’s latest warning over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam once again frames Ethiopia’s actions as unacceptable and unlawful. Yet that argument leaves out the most important part of the story. Ethiopia is not seeking control over the Nile or attempting to deny water to downstream countries. It is exercising what every sovereign nation expects for itself: the right to use its own natural resources to reduce poverty, generate electricity, and build a stronger economy. The debate over the GERD is therefore about much more than a dam. It is about whether upstream countries have the same right to development that…