U.S. President Donald Trump said he hopes to bring together the leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia to negotiate a resolution to the dispute over Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam, a project that Egypt and Sudan view as a serious threat to their vital water supplies.
- U.S. President Donald Trump suggested mediating the Nile Water Sharing dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia to foster an equitable resolution.
- The dispute arises over Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam, reflecting tensions surrounding water rights in the Nile Basin.
- The dam, completed in 2020, aims to transform Ethiopia’s energy provision, supporting industrial and residential growth.
- However, Egypt and Sudan worry about the potential negative impacts on their vital water resources as downstream countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he hopes to bring together the leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia to negotiate a resolution to the dispute over Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam, a project that Egypt and Sudan view as a serious threat to their vital water supplies.
Trump made the comments while meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
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Earlier, in a January 16 letter to President al-Sisi, Trump said he was “ready to restart U.S. mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to responsibly resolve the question of ‘The Nile Water Sharing’ once and for all.”
He stressed the Nile’s strategic importance, noting that his team “understands the deep significance of the Nile River to Egypt and its people” and is committed to safeguarding water needs across Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
The GERD tension
The GERD has been a source of tension for years. In July, Ethiopia completed the dam, and in September, it inaugurated the project, marking the completion of Africa’s largest hydroelectric project after more than a decade of construction.
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The $4.8 billion dam, built on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia’s western Benishangul-Gumuz region, is designed to transform the country’s energy landscape and supply electricity to homes and industries across East Africa. For Ethiopia, the dam addresses chronic power shortages and is a key driver of its industrial ambitions.
However, downstream nations Egypt and Sudan fear the dam could threaten the Nile’s flow for more than 100 million people. Egypt, which built the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s, worries that GERD could reduce its water supply during droughts and set a precedent for further upstream projects.
