The head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Kenneth McKenzie has commended Egypt’s approach in addressing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis.
He said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been a “statesman-like” in his approach to this problem, seeking to avoid military action, and instead, finding a way to negotiate a settlement that all parties can actually live with.
The dispute between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia was sparked in 2011 when Addis Ababa began constructing the mega-dam on the Blue Nile.
Egypt and 10 other downstream countries share the Nile basin, yet more than 85 percent of its share comes from the Blue Nile tributary in Ethiopia.
For nearly a decade, the African Union sponsored talks between Cairo, Addis Ababa and Khartoum over its operation and filling.
In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper, McKenzie said he thinks “Egypt, like Washington, is committed to a diplomatic solution for the GERD crisis. “
“We are prepared to help in the future to get people back together and we are prepared to do anything we can to help Egypt work at this problem diplomatically. I believe that is Egypt’s intent too,” he added.
The US administrations under former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden couldn’t make a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations.
In remarks about the relationship between Cairo and Washington, McKenzie said the US is committed to helping Egypt build its capabilities to face any threats to its security.
He pointed out that his meeting with Defense Minister Gen. Mohamed Zaki tackled the enduring strategic nature of the relationship between the US and Egypt and how important Egypt is to the US and the US Central Command.
He added that some parties in the region, who act like friends to Egypt, in fact, work against it. He highlighted the necessity that Egypt maintains preparedness to counter any new threats or cyberattacks.
“Egypt is very important to us. Our long history of cooperation together is very important,” he said.
Commenting on the US-Egyptian maritime cooperation, McKenzie said Egypt controls one of the great treasures of our world, the Suez Canal.
He affirmed that the stewardship of that canal has been the core of Egyptian policy for many years.
“The United States and many of our friends and partners around the world depend on the security of the Suez Canal.”
McKenzie further indicated that Egypt's ironclad ability to provide safe passage in the canal has been very important to global commerce for many decades.
