EGYPT’S EL-SISI SAYS CAIRO WON’T ALLOW ANY THREAT TO SOMALIA’S SECURITY AMID ROW WITH ETHIOPIA OVER PORT DEAL

Mon 22 January 2024:

Amid tensions with Ethiopia over a recent maritime agreement between Addis Ababa and Somaliland, the breakaway province of Somalia, Egypt said on Sunday that it will not tolerate any risks to the security of Somalia, Anadolu Agency reported.

During a news conference in Cairo with his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi stated “No external actor will be permitted to threaten the Somali people or jeopardize their safety.”

“We are unwavering in our support for our brothers, and if they call upon us, we will not hesitate to act,” he added.

Ethiopia signed a sea access deal with Somaliland earlier this month without the approval of Somalia’s central government.

Somalia rejected Ethiopia’s Red Sea port deal with Somaliland, calling it “illegitimate,” a threat to good neighborliness and a violation of its sovereignty. It also recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia after the deal was announced.

Addis Ababa defended its decision to sign the deal and said the agreement with Somaliland “will affect no party or country.”

The deal allows Ethiopia to obtain a permanent and reliable naval base and commercial maritime service in the Gulf of Aden.

“We affirm our rejection of the agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland and will not allow any threat to the state of Somalia and its security,” al-Sisi said.

“It is not in anyone’s interest to test Egypt’s patience and threaten its brothers, especially if they requested Egypt’s intervention,” he warned.

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia have been tense for years over a major dam Ethiopia has built on the Blue Nile.

For over a decade — along with Sudan — the countries have been trying to reach a negotiated agreement on the filling and operation of the $4bn Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The latest round of talks last month ended without a deal and Cairo and Addis Ababa traded blame for the failure.

Negotiators have said key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multiyear drought occurs, and how the countries will resolve any future disputes.

Following the Eritrean War of Independence, which lasted from 1961 to 1991, Ethiopia lost its ports on the Red Sea early in the 1990s.

Eritrea separated from Ethiopia in 1991, creating two distinct countries. Due to the divide, Ethiopia was unable to maintain direct access to the Red Sea and important ports.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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