Egypt and Eritrea signed a maritime transport cooperation agreement this week that will establish a new shipping line connecting the two countries’ Red Sea ports. The agreement has been hailed as a positive step to further boost bilateral relations between the two states and enhance regional trade.
The agreement was signed during a visit by a high-level delegation headed by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Minister of Transport Kamel Al-Wazir to the Eritrean capital Asmara. The signing ceremony was attended by Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki.
According to Salah Halima, a former deputy foreign minister, relations between Cairo and Asmara are based on cooperation across the political, economic, security, and social spheres.
He noted that both countries overlook the Red Sea and are members of the Council of Arab and African Coastal States of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, also known as the Red Sea Council.
The council is a geopolitical alliance established in Riyadh in 2020 to enhance economic, political, and security cooperation across two vital waterways. The national security of its member states is directly linked to the national security of the Red Sea region, Halima said.
There are also joint agreements between Egypt and Eritrea, Egypt and Somalia, and Egypt and Djibouti that aim to boost defence and security cooperation among the countries overlooking the Red Sea, he added.
Another diplomat who preferred to remain anonymous said that the cooperation with Eritrea, alongside cooperation with Djibouti and Somalia, will improve Cairo’s abilities to form trade and security alliances with the countries in the region.
This will have positive impacts on reducing the cost of transportation as well as of imports and exports between all the parties involved.
During the signing of the agreement, Abdelatty praised the historical depth of the ties between the two countries and reaffirmed that Cairo stands behind the sovereignty of Eritrea, while encouraging all the nations in the Horn of Africa to protect regional stability.
Afwerki reaffirmed Eritrea’s commitment to strengthening coordination with Egypt across the political, economic, and security fields, highlighting that the agreement was not a new beginning, but the latest chapter in a long and practical partnership.
Al-Wazir said the new shipping line linking Egyptian and Eritrean ports was proof of Cairo and Asmara’s commitment to bolstering relations.
He also noted Egypt’s keenness to transfer its expertise in railways, ports, and maritime transport, thereby contributing to supporting development efforts and boosting economic and trade ties between Cairo and Asmara.
Cairo has taken part in upgrading Eritrea’s Red Sea port of Asab and Djibouti’s Doraleh port and has deployed as many as 15,000 troops in Somalia as part of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
While the main outcome of the visit was signing the transport cooperation agreement, Abdelatty underlined Egypt’s firm position with regard to the security of the Red Sea region.
He said that the “governance and security” of the Red Sea must remain the “exclusive responsibility” of the waterway’s littoral states.
“Non-littoral parties have no right to engage in arrangements related to the Red Sea,” read a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry quoting Abdelatty.
Egypt’s top diplomat was referring to Ethiopia’s repeated attempts to gain a permanent foothold on the Red Sea through a deal with the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland.
Ethiopia has been landlocked since Eritrea seceded and gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of civil war.
During the visit, a meeting of the Egyptian-Eritrean Business Forum was also held with the aim of exploring ways of enhancing trade and economic and investment cooperation.
Abdelatty was accompanied by a high-level delegation to Asmara that included business leaders and private-sector representatives who explored investment opportunities in Eritrea.
The visit aimed to sustain momentum in bilateral relations, open new fields for economic and investment cooperation, and contribute to enhancing partnerships in many priority sectors, mainly mining, transport, pharmaceuticals, and fisheries.
“Focusing on bilateral relation with Eritrea is part of a wider strategy to find partners in the eastern part of Africa, to establish land networks between these states, and to ease access to markets among regional states,” he said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 21 May, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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