Somali president Hassan Sheikh arrives in Asmara Airport on Monday where he was received by Eritrean president Isias Afwerki.
MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) – Following a discreet meeting with an Egyptian delegation in Mogadishu on Sunday, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud embarked on a two-day state visit to Asmara, Eritrea, on Monday.
The Egyptian delegation, dispatched by President Abdel Fatah Elsisi, had arrived in Mogadishu a day earlier but the details were kept confidential until after the meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
In an official statement, the Somalia Presidency, Villa Somalia, announced, “the delegation conveyed an official invitation for President Hassan Sheikh to visit Egypt.”
The meeting transpired at Villa Somalia on Sunday, where the Egyptian delegation reiterated President El Sisi’s steadfast support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
President Mohamud’s subsequent journey to Asmara was at the invitation of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.
These diplomatic maneuvers unfold against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia, triggered by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Addis Ababa and Hargeisa last week.
The MOU, granting Ethiopia access to the Red Sea, was rejected by Somalia’s federal government as “illegitimate.”
In recent days, heightened sentiments of threats emerged, including Somalia military officials advocating for the mobilization of insurgents in Ethiopia and Somaliland.
The evolving diplomatic landscape in the region underscores the complexities and challenges facing the Horn of Africa.