WASHINGTON/CAIRO, July 16 (AGCNewsNet) — U.S. President, Donald Trump, has pledged to swiftly resolve the long-standing Nile water dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia, following Addis Ababa’s completion of the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a project that Cairo warns could severely threaten its water supply.

Speaking during a meeting with NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, at the White House, Trump said the situation was urgent, acknowledging Egypt’s concerns about its vital share of Nile water.

“I think if I am Egypt, I want to have water in the Nile and we are working on that,” Trump told reporters. “To take that away is pretty incredible. But we think we are going to have that solved very quickly.”

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, built on the Blue Nile near the Sudanese border, took 14 years to complete. It began generating electricity in 2022 and is expected to produce over 6,000 megawatts—doubling Ethiopia’s current output and making it a regional energy exporter.

Ethiopia has invited Egypt and Sudan to the official inauguration ceremony, despite ongoing tensions. Both downstream countries have opposed the project for years over concerns about its impact on their water security.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi welcomed Trump’s remarks with fervent praise, calling him “a man of peace” and affirming Egypt’s trust in Washington’s ability to mediate.

“Egypt values the importance President Trump attaches to reaching a fair agreement that safeguards the interests of everyone linked to the Ethiopian dam,” El Sisi wrote in a Facebook post. He lauded Trump’s broader peace efforts, including in Gaza, Ukraine, and across Africa.

However, tensions remain high between Egypt and the U.S. over Trump’s controversial proposal to relocate Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Jordan. Egypt has called the idea a threat to national security and indefinitely postponed a February visit to Washington in protest.

Despite the recent cordiality over the dam issue, El Sisi had declined to include Egypt in Trump’s Middle East tour in May, signaling ongoing diplomatic friction.

Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 97% of its freshwater needs, has called GERD an “existential threat.” A drop in Nile flow could devastate Egypt’s agriculture, eliminate millions of jobs, and undermine food security in the most populous Arab nation.

Sudan has voiced similar concerns, particularly over the safety of the dam’s structure and Ethiopia’s refusal to share operational data. The country remains bogged down in a civil war that erupted in April 2023, limiting its ability to participate in negotiations.

While both Egypt and Sudan have sought a legally binding agreement on the dam’s operation and filling schedule, years of talks with Ethiopia have yielded little progress. Recently, Egypt’s opposition has quieted somewhat, as the annual dam fillings—completed last summer—had minimal impact due to above-average rainfall in Ethiopia’s highlands.

Still, Egypt’s primary fear remains: how much water Ethiopia will release during periods of severe drought.

Ethiopia insists the dam poses no threat and is essential for national development.

“Electricity from the dam will also benefit neighboring nations, including Sudan,” Ethiopian officials have repeatedly said.

The project has remained one of Africa’s most contentious diplomatic challenges, intertwining regional development, water security, and international mediation in a complex geopolitical puzzle.

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