Cairo, Khartoum endorse Trump’s Nile mediation

This week, US President Donald Trump offered to resume American mediation in the long-running Nile water dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to a letter sent to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and published on Truth Social. In the letter, Trump said Washington was ready to restart efforts aimed at reaching a “responsible” and final settlement.

Trump proposed what he described as fair and transparent negotiations, backed by US technical support and a follow-up mechanism. He stressed that Nile waters should not be subject to “unilateral control” that harms downstream states.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has responded positively to Trump’s offer. “I have addressed a letter to President Trump conveying my thanks and appreciation,” El-Sisi wrote, adding that he expressed his aspiration to continue “working closely with him in the coming phase.” Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan has also welcomed the initiative. “The Government of Sudan welcomes and supports President Trump’s initiative and mediation regarding the Nile waters,” Al-Burhan said. As of writing, there has been no official response from Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia has long viewed the GERD as a “national development priority” and a matter of “sovereign right.” Addis Ababa maintains that the project will not harm downstream countries if managed responsibly, emphasizing that the Nile’s waters belong to all the countries it crosses, not only traditional downstream powers. Ethiopia has also rejected linking water allocations to what it describes as colonial-era agreements. The dam’s formal inauguration in September 2025 marked a symbolic victory for Ethiopia’s long-standing development ambitions, even as downstream states continue to contest its implications.

Egypt’s position, by contrast, centers on water security and the need for legal guarantees to protect its share of Nile waters, on which it relies almost entirely for agriculture and drinking water. Cairo fears that the GERD, if operated unilaterally, could reduce downstream flows. Egypt has consistently called for a binding agreement governing the dam’s filling and operation, including clear dispute-resolution mechanisms. Egyptian officials have described the project as a potential threat to regional stability and national survival if technical safeguards are not agreed. Since the dam’s opening in September, Cairo has intensified diplomatic outreach and welcomed renewed offers of international mediation.

Tensions have increased since Ethiopia officially launched the GERD in September 2025. The dam’s opening deepened existing distrust, with Egypt repeatedly describing Ethiopia’s “unilateral actions” as a “threat to stability in the Eastern Nile Basin.”

In response, Egypt has expanded its diplomatic and security engagement in the Horn of Africa. Cairo has sought greater involvement in African peacekeeping missions, including cooperation in Somalia, as part of efforts to strengthen regional influence and build alliances. Egypt has offered to participate in stabilization initiatives and support partner states’ sovereignty and unity, moves widely seen as countering Ethiopian influence in the region. This diplomacy underlines Cairo’s strategic aim of achieving concessions through political pressure. However, Trump’s latest offer joins a long list of attempts to reach a negotiated settlement, though whether it will lead to a substantive breakthrough remains uncertain.