President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi visited Djibouti last week. During a meeting with his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh the two leaders rejected any action that threatens freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, highlighted the need to maintain regional security principles and agreed that primary responsibility for securing the key trade route rests with littoral states.
Al-Sisi and Guelleh stressed the importance of upholding security and stability in Somalia and Sudan and safeguarding the unity and territorial integrity of both states as part and parcel of the security of the Red Sea and Horn of Africa.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to contribute forces to the African Union Stabilisation and Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) that started its mission on 1 January this year.
The growing number of visits between Egyptian and African officials reflects Cairo’s keenness to address the challenges confronting Egypt and other countries in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa.
The geopolitically important area has long been the site of conflicts, says national security and international relations expert Mohamed Abdel-Wahed. He told Al-Ahram Weekly that border conflicts between Ethiopia and Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia and Djibouti and Eritrea can be ascribed — among other reasons — to the region’s rich resources and strategic location for international trade, and that developments there will inevitably impact Egypt.
Abdel-Wahed cites the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) as an existential threat emanating from the region.” Addis Ababa can use the dam for political gains anytime, but especially during times of drought or prolonged drought. It can control or stop the flow of Nile water.”
The Al-Sisi-Guelleh meeting focused on bilateral issues and cooperation in defence, security, countering extremist ideology, media, energy, trade, ICT, agriculture, education, culture, health, youth, and sports.
The two presidents witnessed the signing of several agreements and memoranda of understanding. The visit also saw the establishment of the Egyptian-Djiboutian Joint Business Council which is expected to hold its first meeting soon.
This was President Al-Sisi’s second official visit to Djibouti. His first was in 2021. Guelleh visited Egypt in 2022, and the two presidents met on the sidelines of the Arab League Summit last year.
Mohamed Hegazi, former assistant to Egypt’s foreign minister, highlighted Egypt’s leading role in Africa and ongoing efforts to maintain peace and stability. He characterised historical ties with countries like Djibouti and Eritrea as “geopolitically substantial”and stressed that President Al-Sisi’s visit to Djibouti “helps to strengthen Egypt’s logistical drive in the Horn of Africa and contributes to securing the entry to the Red Sea and to the Suez Canal”.
During the Extraordinary Summit of African Union Troop-Contributing Countries for AUSSOM, held in the Ugandan capital Entebbe last week, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli took the opportunity to reiterate Cairo’s unwavering support for Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s vision of establishing a unified and prosperous state.
“We believe that the establishment of AUSSOM provides an opportunity for the international community to refocus its efforts, renew its commitment and demonstrate its resolve to assist the brotherly people of Somalia in their quest for peace, stability and development,” Madbouli said in his address to the summit.
Egypt announced its participation in the newly formed AUSSOM in December 2024, four months after Cairo and Mogadishu signed a military cooperation protocol.
Last month, Egypt took part in the London Conference on Sudan. The head of Egyptian General Intelligence Service (GIS) Hassan Rashad and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty have also held separate meetings with the head of Sudan’s ruling Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan. All the meetings aimed to find ways to end Sudan’s two-year war and maintain the country’s unity and integrity.
Abdelatty stressed the need to support security and stability in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea during a meeting in Cairo in January with his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh and Somali counterpart Ahmed Moalim Fiqi and pointed out that Cairo would not accept any military or naval presence from non-littoral countries.
Abdelatty also held separate meetings with his Eritrean and Somali counterparts to discuss regional cooperation and security in the Horn of Africa.
Egypt’s relations with Somalia and Eritrea are longstanding, according to Abdel-Wahed. Cairo has supported both countries in their struggle for independence and/or unity during different phases in their modern history. “This tripartite cooperation is very important to Egypt as well as the two states because it will contribute to preserving their territorial integrity and security,” he said.
The Egyptian-Somali-Eritrean tripartite meeting built on President Al-Sisi’s visit to Eritrea in October last year and his meeting with his counterpart Isaias Afwerki and Somali President Mohamud.
The recent flurry of visits came as Addis Ababa stepped up attempts to access the Red Sea. At the beginning of 2024, the Ethiopian federal government announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Somaliland under which Ethiopia would establish commercial and naval bases on Somaliland’s coast in exchange for Ethiopia recognising Somaliland’s independence.
The move sparked tensions between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa. Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but is not recognised as an independent state by any country, the African Union, or the UN.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 1 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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