The Egyptian bigwigs also tuned into what Afwerki had to say about the Red Sea shenanigans. Their focus was on laying the groundwork to get maritime shenanigans back to normal and boost international trade through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. They also chewed the fat on what’s popping in the Horn of Africa and the hurdles the region’s hopping over, along with brainstorming ways to jazz up security and peace.
This chat comes right as Somalia is embroiled in a tiff with Ethiopia. The drama revolves around Ethiopia’s role in the African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and a dodgy memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
The shady MoU doles out 20 kilometers of the Red Sea coastline to Ethiopia in return for some half-promised recognition of Somaliland’s independence. Somalia’s called foul, slamming the MoU as a slap in the face to its sovereignty and its territorial map.
Somalia’s put its foot down against Ethiopian meddling in AUSSOM, insisting the home team gets the final coin toss on member selection. Somalia’s got some backers in its corner, too. Allies such as Egypt and Djibouti are raising eyebrows about Ethiopia’s motives in the peacekeeping gig.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s lined up some heavyweight support from Eritrean President Afwerki. Afwerki’s giving a thumbs-up to Mogadishu’s unity and holding the line on its territorial fences.
