EthiopiaEthiopia, despite contributing 86% of the Abbay Waters, has not been able to access its equitable and reasonable share of the river basin because of Egypt’s strategy of maintaining an unfair status quo through a claim of ‘established, historical, and acquired right.’ The paper intends to address the legal and political basis by which EthiopiaEthiopia can ensure its equitable and reasonable share from the Abbay River basinAbbay River Basin by outlining various basin-wide treaties, international watercourse laws, and political discourse. Here, agreements concluded within the Abbay basinAbbay Basin such as the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) and Declarations of Principles (DoPs) on the GERDGrand Ethiopian Reminiscence Dam (GERD) clearly stipulate the equitable and reasonable use principle in line with EthiopiaEthiopia’s interest. The challenge here is regarding the implementation of such legal frameworks, which have been inhibited by the unfulfilled criteria of not being ratified by six signatory states in the case of the CFA and the continuous reference of Egypt to ‘historical rights.’ EthiopiaEthiopia continues to push for its interest in ensuring equitable and reasonable shares of the Abbay RiverAbbay River by employing counter hegemony strategies of deconstructing Egypt’s securitizationSecuritization through discourses such as ‘the right to development,’ cooperation, and pan-Africanism. If EthiopiaEthiopia is to uphold its equitable and reasonable use on Abbay, there is a need to work on proactive diplomacy and push for the CFA to enter into force as well as investments in water development projects such as the GERDGrand Ethiopian Reminiscence Dam (GERD) that will enhance the bargaining power of the country vis-à-vis downstream countries.