US President Donald Trump has said his administration is continuing efforts to settle a decades-old dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River.
Speaking on Thursday at the signing ceremony for a new international council on Gaza reconstruction, Trump said he intends to end the crisis as soon as possible.
“We’re working on a dam that was built, which precludes the Nile River from getting water. It’s a little tough situation. But we’ll get that settled,” he stated.
Trump claimed that he had the dispute “just about settled” during his first term, before he lost what he describes as “a rigged” election in 2020.
“But here I am back. We’ll get it settled,” he adding, stressing that “it’s a pretty tough situation.”
Ethiopia has completed the construction of the GERD, Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, and officially inaugurated it in September last year. The authorities in Addis Ababa have stressed that the $5 billion project is crucial for expanding electricity generation in Africa’s second-most populous country, where nearly half the population lacks reliable access to power.
However, downstream countries Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly criticized the operation of the GERD, despite assurances from Addis Ababa that the dam will not cause them harm.
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for around 90% of its freshwater needs, insists that the uncontrolled filling and operation of the dam could sharply reduce water supplies, especially during droughts. Sudan has also raised concerns about the safety of its own dams and irrigation systems if water releases are not properly coordinated.
Previous negotiations over the GERD, mediated by regional and international actors including the African Union and the World Bank, have failed to produce a binding agreement on reservoir management, minimum water releases, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
Last week, Egypt’s leader welcomed Trump’s offer of renewed mediation, noting his government’s commitment to “serious and constructive cooperation with the Nile Basin countries… in a manner that achieves shared interests without causing harm to any party.”
On Wednesday, Sisi and Trump met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the US president pledged to intervene in the “very dangerous issue.”