US President Donald Trump has offered to restart American mediation in the long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in a letter dated 16 January and addressed to President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, placing Egypt’s Nile water security at the centre of renewed diplomatic engagement with Washington.
Trump said he wants to “responsibly resolve the question of Nile water sharing once and for all” as the Nile is viewed as an existential national concern.
The offer came alongside Trump’s praise for Al-Sisi’s role in mediating a ceasefire in Gaza, but it was the explicit reference to Nile waters that stood out as the most politically and strategically significant message for Cairo.
Trump wrote that the United States “affirms that no state in this region should unilaterally control the precious resources of the Nile, and disadvantage its neighbors in the process,” which mirrors Egypt’s longstanding demand for legally binding rules governing the filling and operation of the GERD.
In his response, President Al-Sisi said on facebook that he “appreciate[s] the letter from His Excellency President Donald Trump and his valued efforts to consolidate the foundations of peace and stability at the regional and international levels,” as well as the appreciation it conveyed for Egypt’s “pivotal role in supporting security and stability in the region.”
El-Sisi stressed that the Nile River “represents the lifeline of the Egyptian people,” adding that Egypt remains committed to “serious and constructive cooperation with the Nile Basin countries, based on the principles of international law, in a manner that achieves shared interests without causing harm to any party.”
He further stressed these principles are “the constants upon which the Egyptian position is founded,” noting that he had addressed a letter to Trump expressing his thanks, reaffirming Egypt’s concerns over water security, underscoring Cairo’s support for US efforts, and voicing his aspiration to “continue working closely with him during the coming phase.”
For more than a decade, Egypt and Sudan have warned that unilateral actions by Ethiopia could reduce downstream water flows, particularly during droughts and prolonged dry periods, threatening agriculture, drinking water supplies, and overall economic stability. Ethiopia, for its part, insists that the dam is vital for its development and electricity generation and rejects claims that it will cause significant harm.
Trump’s letter suggests a renewed American willingness to engage with the technical and political core of the dispute. He argued that “fair and transparent negotiations,” backed by strong expertise, could lead to an agreement that guarantees predictable water releases for Egypt and Sudan while allowing Ethiopia to generate “very substantial amounts of electricity.”
Significantly, Trump framed the GERD file not as a bilateral technical disagreement but as a major regional security issue. He wrote that resolving tensions over the dam was “at the very top of my agenda,” linking it to broader efforts to promote stability in both the Middle East and Africa and expressing hope that the dispute would not escalate into military confrontation between Egypt and Ethiopia.
The timing and scope of any renewed US mediation remain unclear. However, Trump’s decision to circulate copies of the letter to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie, and Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan points to a possible attempt to widen the diplomatic umbrella around future talks by involving influential regional actors.
The GERD is a massive hydroelectric project that began construction in 2011 and became fully operational in recent years, with a reservoir holding about 74 billion cubic metres of water and an installed capacity of over 5000 megawatts, making it Africa’s largest hydroelectric facility. Ethiopia says the dam is essential to meet its energy needs and to foster economic development, but downstream countries Egypt and Sudan have long expressed grave concerns about its impact on Nile water flows, given that Egypt depends on the river for nearly all of its fresh water and fears that uncoordinated filling and operation could disrupt water supplies and agriculture. Despite years of trilateral negotiations, no legally binding agreement has been reached on how to manage the dam’s reservoir releases, leaving GERD as a central point of regional water-security tensions.
Trump Praises El-Sisi, Offers US Mediation on GERD Dispute first appeared on Egyptian Streets.
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