Overview
- In a Jan. 16 letter posted on Truth Social, Trump told Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi he is ready to resume U.S. mediation on Nile water sharing.
- The message was copied to leaders in Ethiopia, Sudan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with the U.S. stating no country should unilaterally control the Nile’s resources.
- Trump’s framework calls for technical oversight by the U.S., fair and transparent talks, and guarantees of predictable releases during droughts while enabling Ethiopian power generation, with potential electricity sharing downstream.
- The dispute centers on Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, inaugurated in September as Africa’s largest hydroelectric project and expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts.
- Egypt and Sudan warn of risks to downstream water security and dam safety, and there has been no immediate public response from Cairo or Addis Ababa as past talks collapsed in 2020 despite later African Union efforts.