Italian and British ambitions and fears manifested themselves in another way after 1925. London responded to Rome's pressure. Together, in 1925, they began to enter Abyssinia into the League of Nations, exchanging letters in 1906 regarding the division of their influence in Abyssinia, or the practical application of the agreement. Italy offered to implement the railway line to connect its colonies in Somalia and Eritrea, and also to grant it the right to the economic independence of western Abyssinia in exchange for Britain being granted the right to implement the Lake Tana dam and a road from the lake to its colony in Sudan. When the two countries reached an agreement, the Crown Prince was informed, and he considered it an attempt to pressure his country, protesting the principle that Britain would reach an agreement with another government regarding Lake Tana.

The Crown Prince's reaction was strong and immediate, as he submitted a complaint to the League of Nations, reminding the League's member states of their duty to protect his country's independence, describing London and Rome's behavior as "innocent and having political aims and contradicting the fundamental principles of the League of Nations." He pointed out that the talk of the agreement being only about economic aims was meaningless, "because economic influence is closely linked to political influence."

Britain and Italy retreated from their agreement in the face of the Abyssinian position, which was supported by France in the Tripartite Agreement of 1906, which accused the two countries of violating the treaty. Italy sought in 1926 to reach a separate and vague agreement with Abyssinia, while Britain downplayed its interest in the project due to the completion of the Sennar Dam and the decline in cotton prices.

As for the Crown Prince, it seems he had more than one reason to fear the project, even though Britain had a strong relationship with the governors of Gondar and Gojam on the Lake Tana plateau, especially with the Governor of Gojam, Ras Hailu Tekle Haimanot. He feared that if Britain entered the region, it would work to undermine him and perhaps encourage him to rebel or secede.

In a subsequent step, the Crown Prince offered the project to the American J.G. White Engineering Corporation for the construction of the Lake Tana dam, but the global depression and lack of funding stood in the way of its financing and construction.

The Crown Prince Ras Tafari made his first trip abroad, traveling to Aden to attend a British Royal Air Force arms exhibition. Despite the limited nature of the trip and its proximity, it left him with a strong inclination to build an air force and civilian airlines, which he began to implement later and which had its implications and impact. However, the second visit, which took him to Europe...