US President Donald Trump has offered to mediate in the ongoing dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over Nile River water. Trump has said that he is ready to restart American mediation between the two countries. Trump said this in a letter to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The letter has also been posted on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social. According to Reuters report, Trump wrote in the letter that he is ready to resume US mediation to responsibly and permanently resolve the question of Nile River water sharing. The major reason for dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia is Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). This dam has been built on the Blue Nile, a tributary of the Nile River, at a cost of about $5 billion. Ethiopia inaugurated this dam on 9 September. Since then there is resentment in Egypt. Ethiopia considers this dam very important for its economic progress. Ethiopia has a population of more than 120 million and is the second most populous country in Africa. Egypt says that this dam violates international treaties. Egypt fears that this may create drought and flood like situations in the country. Ethiopia has been rejecting these allegations. Trump had conducted mediation in his first term. From late 2019 to early February 2020, the US had conducted formal mediation on Nile River water sharing between Egypt and Ethiopia. This process started during the tenure of the then US President Donald Trump. The talks took place in Washington in the presence of the US Treasury Department and the World Bank. Egypt feared that Ethiopia’s GERD project would reduce the flow of the Nile River. This may increase the risk of water shortage, impact on agriculture, drought and flood. In February 2020, America prepared a draft agreement. Egypt agreed to the draft, but Ethiopia refused to sign. After this, America’s mediation process came to a standstill. In 2020, Trump had publicly given statements in favor of Egypt. Due to this, Ethiopia had raised questions on America’s impartiality. The Nile River is the lifeline of Egypt. The Nile River is not just a water source for Egypt, but is the lifeline of the country. In Egypt, a desert area, drinking water, agriculture, industry and electricity all depend on the Nile River. This is the reason why any dispute related to Nile becomes a national security issue for Egypt. 90 to 95% of the water needs of Egypt’s approximately 11 crore population are met by the Nile River. More than 90% of the country’s area is desert, where natural rainfall is very less. In such a situation, the Nile River is the only permanent water source, which gives life to Egypt. The role of indigo is also important in terms of agriculture. About 95% of Egypt’s cultivable land is located along the Nile River and its delta region. Agriculture accounts for 80–85% of the country’s total fresh water consumption, which comes directly from the Nile. Even a slight decrease in the amount of water can affect wheat, rice and other food crops, putting food security at risk. Egypt facing water crisis: Egypt is already in a situation of water crisis. Under the 1959 water agreement, Egypt receives 55.5 billion cubic meters of water from the Nile every year. This quantity was fixed at a time when the population was very low. Today the situation is such that the per capita annual water availability in Egypt has fallen below 600 cubic meters, while the United Nations classifies less than 1,000 cubic meters as a water crisis. The impact of the Nile River is not limited to villages and farms only. The water supply of big cities like Cairo and Alexandria depends on the Nile. Apart from this, hydroelectric power obtained from Aswan High Dam is also connected to this river, which plays an important role in the energy needs of Egypt. For these reasons, the Egyptian government considers every development related to the Nile River as extremely sensitive. Egypt considers uncertainty in water flows, dam operation or the possibility of long-term water being withheld as a direct existential and national security threat.
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ट्रम्प ने मिस्र-इथियोपिया के विवाद में मध्यस्थता का ऑफर दिया: नील नदी के जल बंटवारे को सुलझाने की पेशकश; डैम बना झगड़े की वजह
