Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
In a post on his official Facebook page, President El-Sisi added: "Egypt reaffirms its confidence in President Trump’s ability to address complex challenges and to advance peace, stability, and security across the globe, whether in Ukraine, the Palestinian territory, or Africa."
The Egyptian president added that "Egypt also appreciates President Trump’s keenness on reaching a just agreement that safeguards the interests of all parties regarding the Ethiopian Dam, as well as his recognition of the Nile as a source of life for Egypt."
On Monday, following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House, US President Donald Trump expressed confidence in a rapid resolution to the decade-old dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
“I think if I am Egypt, I want to have water in the Nile, and we are working on that,” Trump said.
He described the dam as “closing up water going to the Nile,” which Egypt depends on for 97 percent of its water.
Trump added, “I think the United States funded the dam. I do not know why they didn't solve the problem before they built the dam. But it is nice when the Nile River has water.”
Calling the Nile “a very important source of income and life,” Trump said, “to take that away is pretty incredible. But we think we are going to have that solved very quickly.”
For nearly a decade, downstream Nile countries Egypt and Sudan have called on Ethiopia to sign a legally binding agreement regarding the filling and operation of the GERD to safeguard their water rights, but to no avail.
Cairo has repeatedly called on the international community, including the US, to pressure Ethiopia to abstain from unilateral actions on the GERD and respect the country's water shares in the Nile River.
As for Gaza, on Sunday, President Donald Trump told reporters that he hopes to see progress in the next week in ceasefire talks, which are being mediated by the US, Egypt, and Qatar in Doha.
"Gaza -- we are talking and hopefully we're going to get that straightened out over the next week," Trump said, echoing similarly optimistic comments he made on 4 July.
Over the past 18 months, Egypt has long called on the US and Western powers to pressure Tel Aviv to end its genocidal war on the Strip.
In conclusion, President El-Sisi posted: "Egypt reaffirms its support for President Trump’s vision of establishing just peace, security, and stability for all countries in the region and around the world."
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