Egypt Says It Will Not Allow Any Threat to Somalia, Amidst Confrontation with Ethiopia
Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has said a deal granting Ethiopia maritime access through the self-declared republic of Somaliland is acceptable to no one.
Speaking in Cairo next to Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Mr Sisi said Egypt would not allow Somalia’s security to be jeopardized.
President Sisi Saud Egypt is unwavering in its support for Somalia, and if they call upon Egypt, it will not hesitate to act,
But on Sunday, Ethiopia’s National Security Affairs Adviser Redwan Hussien said the contentious deal with Somaliland was meant for cooperation and partnership and is not annexation or assumption of sovereignty over the territory of any state.
Somalia sees Somaliland as its territory and says the deal is illegal.
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On January 1, in a memorandum, Ethiopia said it would consider recognising Somaliland’s independence in return for the port access.
It would lease 20km (12 miles) of coastland around the port of Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden, for 50 years for military and commercial purposes.
Ethiopia’s current main port for maritime exports is in the neighbouring country of Djibouti.
Sheikh Mohamud, the president of Somalia, rejected the deal as a violation of international law and said: We will not stand idly by and watch our sovereignty being compromised.
He arrived in Egypt over the weekend to rally support for his government. Besides meeting President el-Sisi, he met with Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Al-Azhar Mosque’s Grand Imam, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb.
