CAIRO – 25 January 2026: During a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Sunday, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that the Nile River represents a vital lifeline for the Egyptian people, who are living under conditions of severe water scarcity.
Landau is visiting Egypt as part of an African tour that also includes Ethiopia and other countries. Abdelatty added that Cairo remains committed to serious and constructive cooperation with Nile Basin countries in accordance with international law, in order to achieve mutual interests without causing harm, while firmly rejecting any unilateral actions.
The US has pledged to help resolve the more than decade-long dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, which, along with Sudan, has repeatedly reached deadlocks.
GERD Deadlocks
Egypt has repeatedly rejected Ethiopia’s unilateral actions and uncoordinated approach to the filling and operation of the mega dam, which has a storage capacity of up to 74 billion cubic meters of water.
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 98% of its renewable water resources, has cited concerns over future water supplies especially in the periods of drought and flood.
Egypt’s annual water demand exceeds 90 billion cubic metres, far outstripping its 55.5 billion cubic metre share of the Nile, according to official data.
With per capita water availability falling below 500 cubic metres per year, the country faces severe water scarcity, well under the United Nations threshold of 1,000 cubic metres per person, which defines water poverty.
The River Nile’s downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, have called on Ethiopia to sign a binding legal agreement governing the operation and filling of the dam to secure their water rights and people's interests, a demand that Addis Ababa has rejected despite more than a decade of talks.
In October, Egypt accused Ethiopia of creating a “man-made flood” that put the lives and resources of populations in the two downstream countries at risk, citing “hasty and uncoordinated filling” of the recently inaugurated dam.
Restarted US Mediation
On Friday, Trump said that he is willing to restart US mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to resolve the dam dispute in a letter addressed to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
In the letter, Trump said he understands the “deep significance of the Nile River to Egypt and its people, and I want to help you achieve an outcome that assures the water needs” of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
“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.”
Meeting with El-Sisi on Wednesday, Trump said he would like to bring together the leaders of both Egypt and Ethiopia to advance a solution to the GERD dispute.
Sun, Jan. 25, 2026
