- Egypt and Sudan have welcomed President Donald Trump’s offer to restart United States mediation with Ethiopia over Nile River water sharing.
- Ethiopia’s 5.15 gigawatt Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the largest hydro project in Africa, is transforming the country into a regional power exporter despite ongoing downstream concerns.
- The project is reshaping East Africa’s energy landscape through electricity exports digital mining and regional power trading.
Egypt and Sudan have expressed support for renewed United States mediation efforts aimed at resolving the long running dispute with Ethiopia over Nile River water resources following the commissioning of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was ready to resume mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to resolve the Nile water sharing issue. His comments were made in a letter to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sissi and later shared on social media.
President el Sissi welcomed the initiative saying Egypt values Washington’s attention to what it considers a matter of national security. He reiterated Cairo’s commitment to constructive cooperation with Nile Basin countries in line with international law and without causing harm to other parties.
Sudan’s military leader and chairman of the Sovereign Council General Abdel Fattah Burhan also endorsed the proposal describing it as an important step towards sustainable and satisfactory solutions that protect the rights of all countries involved.
The dispute centres on Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam which was officially inaugurated in September. Located on the Blue Nile the dam is Africa’s largest hydropower facility with an installed capacity of more than 5150 megawatts effectively doubling Ethiopia’s electricity generation capacity.
Ethiopia views the five billion dollar project as central to its economic development and industrialisation strategy. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has described the dam as a historic national achievement and a symbol of unity funded largely through domestic resources including government bonds public contributions and civil servant salary allocations. The dam wall itself was fully self-funded giving Ethiopia full control over the project while Chinese contractors supported construction and financed transmission infrastructure and turbines.
Egypt has repeatedly warned that the dam could significantly reduce downstream water flows and increase the risk of droughts and flooding claims that Ethiopia strongly rejects. Sudan has also raised concerns around water security and dam operation coordination.
Beyond domestic power supply the dam is positioning Ethiopia as a regional energy hub. Ethiopian Electric Power exports electricity to Kenya under a long term power purchase agreement that will scale from 200 megawatts to 400 megawatts. Power is also sold to Sudan and Djibouti with additional agreements under discussion with Somaliland Tanzania and South Sudan.
The country has also diversified its energy use by supplying hydroelectric power to digital mining operations. Bitcoin mining now accounts for around 18 percent of Ethiopian Electric Power revenue generating approximately one billion dollars over the past year. More than 25 mining firms have signed agreements including several international operators.
Looking ahead regional energy integration is set to deepen. Member states of the Eastern Africa Power Pool plan to launch a centralised day ahead electricity market in 2025 enabling cross border power trading and access to low cost renewable energy. Officials say the initiative will improve electricity reliability affordability and economic productivity across the region.
As diplomatic efforts resume the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam continues to sit at the intersection of geopolitics water security and Africa’s evolving clean energy economy. Read more
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
