By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has appreciated the US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate a dispute over Nile River waters between Egypt and its neighbouring Ethiopia.
The Egyptian leader in a post on X Saturday said he addressed Trump’s letter by affirming his country’s position and concerns about the security of the Egypt’s water, in regard to Ethiopia’s disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Trump had on Friday said that he was ready to revisit 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, which it heavily depends on.
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, Africa’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.
