Trump says Egypt's Nile water dispute with Ethiopia to be solved 'very quickly'

President El Sisi welcomes US leader's comments and lauds him as man of peace

US President Donald Trump said of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: 'If I am Egypt, I want to have water in the Nile and we are working on that.' AFP

US President Donald Trump has vowed to work towards a quick resolution of Egypt's water dispute with Ethiopia, which has completed building a Nile dam that Cairo claims could rob it of its vital share of the river's water.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was quick to welcome Mr Trump's comments, heaping lavish praise on the American leader as a man of peace.

Ethiopia has said construction of the dam is complete, and invited Egypt and Sudan, downstream nations that have vigorously opposed the project, to the inauguration ceremony.

Ethiopia's controversial Nile dam complete after 14-year construction

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Construction on the hydroelectric $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) began in 2011. It sits on the Blue Nile, by far the larger of the river's two tributaries, near the Sudanese border.

“I think if I am Egypt, I want to have water in the Nile and we are working on that,” Mr Trump said at a meeting with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam took 14 years to build. AP

He said the dam was “closing up water going to the Nile" and called the river “a very important source of income and life ... to take that away is pretty incredible. But we think we are going to have that solved very quickly.”

Mr El Sisi, Egypt's President of 11 years, responded on Tuesday to the US President's comments, writing on Facebook that his country appreciated them as proof of Washington's commitment under Mr Trump's leadership to end wars and settle disputes across the world. He specifically mentioned the Russia-Ukraine war, Africa and Gaza.

"Egypt values the importance President Trump attaches to reaching a fair agreement that safeguards the interests of everyone linked to the Ethiopian dam and his assertion of what the Nile represents to Egypt as a source of life," he said.

"Egypt renews its support for President Trump as he endeavours to install peace, stability and security in the nations of the region and the world."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, left, has heaped praise on his US counterpart Donald Trump. AFP

Mr El Sisi's praise of the American leader comes at a time when relations between the two allied nations are fraught over the Gaza war, which has been raging in the coastal enclave over Egypt's eastern border since October 2023.

Besides his unwavering support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Egypt is particularly alarmed by Mr Trump's proposal to resettle Gaza's 2.3 million residents in its Sinai Peninsula, as well as in Jordan.

It says that if implemented, his vision for a Gaza turned into a glitzy beach resort without its native inhabitants poses a serious threat to Egyptian security.

In protest over the Gaza plan first suggested by Mr Trump in January, Mr El Sisi has indefinitely put off a visit to Washington that had been scheduled for February, sources told The National at the time. For his part, Mr Trump did not include Egypt in his Middle East tour in May.

Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, with about 107 million people, is alarmed that the Gerd project could reduce its share of the river, which provides almost all of its freshwater needs. It has called the dam an existential threat, arguing that any drop in its water share would wipe out millions of farming jobs and ruin Egypt's delicate food balance.

Sudan, Egypt's war-torn southern neighbour, is concerned that any structural damage to the dam would leave large parts of the country underwater. It has also complained that Ethiopia is not sharing data on the dam's operation.

Egypt and Sudan had engaged in years of fruitless negotiations with Ethiopia to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.

The Nile river in Cairo, where the Egyptian government has expressed concern over Ethiopia's new dam. Hamza Hendawi / The National

Their criticism of Addis Ababa over the dam, however, has slackened off in the past two years, with Sudan mired in a devastating civil war since April 2023.

Egypt, on the other hand, has been unaffected by the scheduled annual fillings of the dam that ended last summer, thanks to plentiful rain on the Ethiopian highlands that have kept the Nile bountiful.

With the reservoir at full capacity, Egypt's main concern is how much water Addis Ababa will allow to flow downstream during times of severe drought.

Ethiopia has maintained the dam does not pose a threat to anyone and is vital for its own development. It has said electricity generated by the dam would be available to neighbouring nations, including Sudan.

The dam began producing power in 2022 and is expected ultimately to create more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity – double Ethiopia’s current output and enough to make the East African nation of 120 million people a net energy exporter.