Hassan Sheikh, Somalia’s President, contacted Abdul Fattah Al Sisi, the Egyptian President on Thursday. The phone call between the two leaders came in the wake of Ethiopia-Somalia talks held in Turkiye.
The Presidents of Somalia and Egypt discussed “bilateral relations”. During the call, Alsisi “stressed Egypt’s keenness on the security, stability and sovereignty of Somalia over its lands”, and its “support for it in facing various security and development challenges.” The call also addressed the situation in the Horn of Africa region, where the two presidents affirmed their keenness to ensure the security and stability of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden regions.
Relations between the two countries are strengthening. Egypt has been training Somali soldiers. Next week, Egypt Air will commences direct flights to and from Mogadishu.
This week, Ethiopia and Somalia held talks in Turkiye to find a solution to the dispute over a controversial memorandum of understanding signed in January by Ethiopia and Somaliland. The talks could not reach an agreement but the two sides agreed to meet again on September 2.
Egypt and Ethiopia have not been on good terms. Egypt has been opposing building of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) by Ethiopia on river Nile. Despite pressure from Egypt and international community, Ethiopia has almost completed the GERD construction. Egypt and Sudan, downstream river Nile countries, want Ethiopia to sign a legally binding agreement about dam operations. Ethiopia is not interested in signing any such agreement.
Earlier in January this year, when Ethiopia-Somalia tensions rose over the controversial MoU, Egypt was one of the first countries to announce support for Somalia.
Egypt has long been trying to gain a military foothold in the countries neighboring Ethiopia. Its efforts to establish a military base in Djibouti was thwarted by Ethiopia. After Hassan Sheikh came to power in Somalia in 2022, Egypt Somalia relations improved and Ethiopia-Somalia relations deteriorated.
Interestingly on Thursday, Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed, delivering a speech at the parliament, mocked the President of Somalia. He said that Hassan Sheikh Somalia’s President, instead of going from country to country, should have taken an hour flight to Addis Ababa to solve the issue of MoU and that the President of Somalia should spend this money, being spent on foreign travels, on building schools in Mogadishu.
After the Ethiopian PM’s speech, the President of Somalia called the President of Egypt. It would be interesting to see how far Egypt would pledge practical support for Somalia in case of Ethiopia-Somalia confrontation.
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