Key Highlights
- Egypt sees the dam as a “grave violation of international law” that poses “an existential threat,” fearing a severe effect on Nile water flow.
- Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a social media post that he valued “President Trump’s attention to the central importance of the Nile River issue for Egypt,” adding that his country is 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 said that Egypt supports the US efforts to resolve the dispute with Ethiopia.
- In a post on X, Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan, chairman of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council and its military chief, hailed Trump’s initiative as a step “to find sustainable and satisfactory solutions that preserve everyone’s rights.” There was no immediate comment from Ethiopia.
- On Friday, Trump posted on social media a letter he sent to el-Sissi, saying: “I am ready to restart US mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to responsibly resolve the question of ‘The Nile Water Sharing’ once and for all.” Washington-led mediations began during Trump’s first term, but they effectively collapsed in 2020, when Ethiopia withdrew — though some discussions later continued under the African Union without reaching a settlement.
- Cairo and Khartoum call for a legally binding agreement on how GERD, located on the Blue Nile near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan, will be filled and operated, while Addis Ababa insists on guidelines.
