The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Minister Badr Abdel Ati received a phone call from his Somali counterpart, Ahmed Moallem, in which he informed him of the outcomes of the tripartite Ankara summit held recently between Somalia, Turkey, and Ethiopia, to resolve the dispute between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa over building a port for Ethiopia in the breakaway region of Somaliland.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated in a statement that the Somali Foreign Minister affirmed his country’s commitment to “respecting Somali sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity,” which was supported by the Egyptian Minister.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that Abdel-Aty affirmed “Egypt’s full support for the federal government in brotherly Somalia, and in combating terrorism and achieving security and stability.”
She added that the call addressed “the distinguished strategic relations between Egypt and Somalia, and the mutual keenness to develop bilateral relations in all political, economic and commercial fields in a way that meets the ambitions of the two brotherly countries and builds on the momentum witnessed by Egyptian-Somali relations during the recent period,” in addition to following up on the results of The tripartite summit held in Asmara Between the presidents of Egypt, Somalia and Eritrea on October 10.
The two ministers agreed, according to the Egyptian statement, to “continue joint coordination and prepare to hold a tripartite ministerial meeting between the foreign ministers of Egypt, Somalia and Eritrea in implementation of the directives of the political leaders in the three countries to support coordination and consultation on regional issues of common interest.”
Agreement between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu in Ankara
The call, which took place on Saturday evening, came days after Mogadishu and Ethiopia announced that they would work together to resolve a dispute over Addis Ababa’s plan to build a port in the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Last Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the agreement with the leaders of Ethiopia and Somalia to end the dispute between the two countries, and described the reconciliation between them as “historic.”
The Turkish President added, during a joint press conference with his Somali counterpart, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed: “We agreed on a joint memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia and Somalia.”
The leaders of Somalia and Ethiopia said they agreed to find trade arrangements to allow Ethiopia, which does not border any body of water, “reliable, safe and sustainable access to and from the sea.”
This meeting is the first since January, when Ethiopia said it would lease a port in the breakaway region of Somaliland in northern Somalia in exchange for recognition of the region’s independence.
Ethiopia said it would officially recognize Somaliland’s independence in exchange for a strategic strip of land, near where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean.
Mogadishu rejected the agreement and threatened to expel Ethiopian forces stationed in Somalia. Somalia opposes international recognition of autonomous Somaliland.
Türkiye has close relations with both Ethiopia and Somalia, training Somali security forces and providing aid in exchange for a foothold on a major global shipping route.
Egyptian-Somali rapprochement
Relations between Egypt and Somalia have witnessed a rapprochement recently, as they signed a military cooperation protocol last August, which quickly entered into force after the arrival of an Egyptian military aid shipment to the port of Mogadishu carrying tons of weapons and military vehicles in September.
Egyptian military delegations arrived in Mogadishu in August, to participate in the African Union peacekeeping forces in Somalia (AUSSOM).
Last January, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that his country would not allow any threat to the state of Somalia or its security, considering Ethiopia’s agreement with Somaliland “not acceptable to anyone.”