Egyptian President tells Somali PM ‘we are behind you’ amid deepening row over Somaliland region
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi appeared to warn Ethiopia over its preliminary deal with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland to gain access to the Red Sea.
The Egyptian leader said on Sunday that Cairo would not tolerate anyone threatening or breaching Somalia’s security.
“Let me state this very clearly; Egypt will not allow anyone to breach or threaten Somalia’s security … no one should test Egypt’s resolve or try to threaten its brotherly nations, especially if its brothers asked it to intervene,” said Mr El Sisi.
He made the comments after hosting Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for talks in Egypt’s capital, less than three weeks after landlocked Ethiopia and Somaliland signed a memorandum of understanding that would lease to Addis Ababa a 20km stretch of its Red Sea coastline.
Somalia opposes the independence of Somaliland and has reacted furiously to the deal.
Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991, but remains internationally unrecognised despite its claim to independence. It sits at a strategic location close to the Bay of Aden and the southern mouth of the Red Sea.
Mr Sisi said that Ethiopia should aim to secure access to the Red Sea through “traditional channels” with Djibouti, Somalia and Eritrea.
“No one will object to that, but no one will tolerate anyone pouncing on the territory of others and trying to control it,” he said, alluding to the January 1 deal.
Turning to the Somali president, Mr El Sisi said: “Be reassured that, with the grace of God, we are behind you.”
The Ethiopia-Somaliland agreement was strongly condemned by the Arab League – of which Somalia is a member – during an emergency meeting of its foreign ministers last week.
Somalia says the deal has also triggered protests across Somaliland, with citizens divided over the deal. Some see potential economic benefits, while others fear compromising their sovereignty.
Somalia said last week the deal betrayed Ethiopia’s ambitions to hurt Arab national security.
With a population of more than 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world. It relies heavily on ports in Djibouti for foreign trade since Eritrea achieved independence in 1993, depriving Ethiopia of a coastline.
The Ethiopian government maintains that access to the Red Sea is an existential necessity for the Horn of Africa nation.
Egypt has clashed with Ethiopia over the latter’s massive Nile dam project. Cairo says the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will reduce its vital share of the Nile’s waters.
It also fears that if Ethiopia gains access to the Red Sea via the Somaliland deal, it could be tempted to establish a military presence that could potentially threaten to Egyptian interests in the strategic waterway.
Egypt, which has a total of 1,500km of Red Sea coastline, depends on the Nile for almost all its fresh water needs.
Egypt’s state-controlled media has been espousing the theory that Ethiopia, which wields significant influence in the Horn of Africa region, has been seeking to undermine Egypt’s interests on behalf of other nations, with Israel always mentioned as a prime suspect.
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
