Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he valued an offer by U.S. President Donald Trump to mediate a dispute over Nile River waters between Egypt and Ethiopia.
– He addressed Trump’s letter by affirming Egypt’s position and concerns about the country’s water security in regard to Ethiopia’s disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
– On Friday, Trump said that he was ready to restart U.S. mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to resolve the dispute over the Ethiopian dam, which both Egypt and Sudan consider a serious threat to vital water supplies.
– Egypt has long opposed the project because of worries about its future supplies of water from the Nile, on which it is heavily dependent.
– Sudan, another downstream country, has expressed concern about the regulation and safety of its own water supplies and dams.
– Sudan’s army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan also welcomed Trump’s mediation offer on Saturday.
– Ethiopia, the continent’s second-most populous nation with more than 120 million people, sees the $5 billion dam on a tributary of the Nile as central to its economic ambitions. It has repeatedly rejected Egypt’s claims.