Addis Abeba — Egyptian media have reported that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has decided to confer the Nile Collar, Egypt's highest state honor, on U.S. President Donald Trump in recognition of his role in promoting peace and ending the war in Gaza.
The announcement came a day after El-Sisi released a video message warning over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), stating that Egypt would take "all necessary measures to safeguard its water security."
Trump repeatedly claim that U.S. funded construction of GERD. On July 2025 Speaking at a White House dinner, where President Donald Trump hosted Republican senators, he repeated the claim - for the third time in a month - that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was funded by the United States. "Ethiopia built a dam with United States money, largely," he said.
In reality, the GERD is entirely funded by the people of Ethiopia through public contributions and domestic resources. It poses no threat to Egypt's water security.
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The London-based outlet The New Arab reported on 20 July 2025 that the Trump administration had offered what one senior U.S. official described as a "decisive intervention" to resolve the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). In exchange, Egypt was reportedly asked to support Israel's plan to relocate millions of Palestinians to an area near the Rafah border.
According to the report, "Egypt has rejected a quid pro quo offered by the U.S. that would see it mediate an end to the crisis over Ethiopia's Nile dam in return for Cairo allowing Israel to displace Gaza's population into Rafah," citing high-level Egyptian diplomatic sources who spoke to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the Arabic-language sister publication of The New Arab.
The announcement of the award comes as Egypt prepares to host over 20 heads of state and prime ministers for the upcoming Summit for Peace, which will be co-chaired by President El-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Nile Collar, Egypt's most prestigious state honor, is granted by presidential decree to individuals who have rendered outstanding service to Egypt or humanity. Past international recipients include Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, King Hussein of Jordan, Queen Elizabeth II, and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
This ceremony comes amid escalated tension between Ethiopia and Egypt over the GERD. On Sunday, El-Sis said, "Egypt will not stand with its hands tied in the face of the irresponsible approach by Ethiopia. It will take all necessary measures to safeguard its water interest and security."
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Earlier this month, Egypt accused Ethiopia of acting "recklessly and irresponsibly" in managing the Nile flood through unilateral dam operations, saying the moves have exacerbated flooding in Sudan and pose a direct threat to Egyptian land and lives.
Ethiopia has dismissed accusations made by the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation regarding the GERD, calling them "falsehoods" and "misrepresentations."
In a statement on Friday, 3 October 2025, Egypt's ministry claimed Ethiopia's dam management "lacks the most basic principles of responsibility and transparency." In response, Ethiopia's Ministry of Water and Irrigation, in a statement released today, 4 October 2025, said that "heavy rainfall in recent months would have caused historical destruction in Sudan and Egypt had the GERD not been in place."
Ethiopia's Ministry of Water and Irrigation argued that regulated water flow from the dam has reduced peak flood magnitudes and minimized damage downstream.
Citing data recorded in Sudan, the statement noted that prior to the GERD, peak floods in the months of August and September often exceeded 800 million cubic meters per day. In comparison, the average daily release from the GERD in the same months this year was 154.7 million cubic meters and 472 million cubic meters, respectively. Ethiopia asserts that the GERD has significantly reduced the risk of flooding.
