Egypt’s foreign minister said Monday that his country will participate in a new African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia. The two countries are drawing closer amid tensions with Ethiopia over the recognition of Somaliland.
“Egypt decided to join this mission based on a request from the Somali government and the welcoming of the African Union Peace and Security Council,” Badr Abdelatty told a joint press conference with his Somali counterpart Ahmed Moalim Fiqi in Cairo on Monday.
Tensions flared in the Horn of Africa after Ethiopia signed a maritime deal in January with Somaliland, pushing Mogadishu closer to Addis Ababa’s regional rival Cairo.
Abdelatty’s remarks came ahead of the end of the current African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) on December 31, to make way for a new force against Islamist Al-Shabaab insurgents, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
On Monday, Abdelatty again affirmed “Somalia’s sovereignty over (its) entire national soil” and rejected “any dictates or unilateral measures affecting Somalia’s unity, sovereignty, and safety.”
This month, Turkey brokered a deal to end the nearly year-long bitter dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the breakthrough as “historic,” and the African Union, Washington, and Brussels welcomed the talks.
Somalia had earlier said Ethiopian troops would be excluded from the AU peacekeeping force but welcomed Egypt’s participation.
On Monday, Cairo’s top diplomat did not clarify the scale of Egypt’s involvement in the force but said that both countries are working towards a strategic partnership.
In August, Egypt signed a military cooperation deal with Somalia during a visit to Cairo by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
And in October, a summit in Asmara brought together Egypt, Eritrea, and Somalia in a new regional alliance that was seen as excluding Ethiopia.
Cairo has long been at odds with Addis Ababa, particularly over the vast Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which it says threatens its vital water supply.
