Trump to restart mediation of Egypt-Ethiopia dispute over Nile water
Jan 17, 2026
Washington [US], January 17: U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday offered to restart U.S. mediation to help resolve a long-running dispute on Nile River water sharing between Egypt and Ethiopia, stressing that no single country should unilaterally control the river's resources.
"The United States affirms that no state in this region should unilaterally control the precious resources of the Nile, and disadvantage its neighbors in the process," said Trump on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump said that a successful approach would guarantee predictable water releases during droughts and prolonged dry years for Egypt and Sudan, while allowing Ethiopia to generate substantial amounts of electricity, some of which could be given to or sold to Egypt and Sudan.
The dispute over Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) pits Ethiopia's need for economic development and power against Egypt's fear of water scarcity, as the Blue Nile is vital for its survival.
In a joint statement, Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Water Minister, Hani Sewilam, rejected "unilateral actions on the Nile," a reference to GERD, and warned that Cairo would not accept new dams on the Nile without a prior legal agreement.
Downstream Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly raised concerns about their water shares since Ethiopia began building the GERD in 2011. Years of trilateral talks have failed to yield a binding agreement on the dam's filling and operation. Ethiopia began the dam's official inauguration in September 2025.
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.
Source: Xinhua
