File Photo/Somali Times
Egypt has vowed to block Ethiopia’s attempts to gain access to the Red Sea, and said it would step up training and equipping Somalia forces as part of a broader security partnership.
Read: Somalia President Hassan Sheikh and his family become the richest in Africa
Read: Egypt pressures Somalia President Hassan Sheikh to cut ties with Ethiopia
Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, speaking at a news conference after talks with Somalia President Hassan Sheikh, said Cairo “will not tolerate any actions that threaten Somalia’s sovereignty or the security of the Red Sea,” a waterway used by about 10 percent of world trade.
Read: Exclusive: Somalia airspace revenue collected by Hassan Sheikh and his family
Read: Turkey benefits under oil agreement with Somalia corrupt president
Read: Somalia corrupt president Hassan Sheikh planning to sell Nugal Valley Basin
The warning follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Ethiopia with Hargeisa administration in January 2024, which provides Addis Ababa with a naval base and a commercial port in exchange for possible recognition of the breakaway region. Mogadishu has called the deal illegal; while Egypt said it threatened the stability of shipping lanes that feed the Suez Canal.
Read: Somalia President meets Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni for advice
Read: Somalia officials abuse diplomatic passports for immigration fraud and human trafficking
Read: Exclusive: No money in the Treasury account of Somalia
Read: Somalia is the number 1 country for corruption
Read: Why is Somalia an unfortunate country
Under a defence agreement signed in August 2024, Egypt has been training and arming Somalia special forces units fighting the Al-Shabab group. El-Sisi said the program would be accelerated, and Egyptian troops would join the upcoming African Union stabilization mission once international funding is available.
Read: Somalia president Hassan Sheikh richest man in Africa for corruption
Read: Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh history of corruption 2012-2017
President Hassan Sheikh welcomed the pledge, arguing that “a strong Somalia army will close the doors to any external intervention.”
Read: Somalia’s corruption is widespread throughout the regime
Read: Somalia Hassan Sheikh’s government is facing a widespread financial crisis and the causes
Although landlocked since its secession from Eritrea in 1993, Ethiopia has sought direct sea routes to reduce the cost of exporting goods to its 120 million citizens. The ambition comes amid ongoing tensions with Cairo over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River.
Read: Somalia corrupt president Hassan Sheikh failed in both domestic and international politics
El-Sisi and Hassan Sheikh said they would expand cooperation in trade, fisheries, and energy, placing security at the heart of their relationship. The two leaders plan to launch a campaign within the Arab League and the African Union to reject the Ethiopia-Hargeisa administration deal, at meetings of those organizations expected later this year.
Ethiopia’s bid for the seaport is the latest in a series of power plays in the region. Djibouti currently controls more than 90 percent of Ethiopia’s imports. The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden remain under international naval surveillance to combat piracy and protect oil flows to Europe and Asia.
Egypt and Somalia have centuries-old cultural and religious ties. Cairo hosts thousands of Somali students, and has long offered scholarships and officer training – a relationship that the two leaders said they hope to expand into a “multifaceted strategic partnership.”