Ethiopia inaugurated the continent's largest hydroelectric project on Tuesday in what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called a "great achievement for all black people", but it drew a protest to the United Nations from downstream nation Egypt.

Ethiopia opens Africa's largest hydropower project, the Blue Nile's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam — a milestone that's sparking alarm in neighboring Sudan and Egypt.

But Ethiopia insists that the towering dam will not only benefit its more than 100 million people, but also its neighbors, and sees it as an opportunity to become Africa’s leading electricity exporter. Ethiopian Water Minister Habtamu Itefa said his country has no intention of harming any of the neighboring countries.