Somalia, Egypt Strengthen Defence and Security Cooperation Ties

Somalia's Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi met Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister Mohamed Karim Fouad to strengthen bilateral defence and security cooperation between the two countries. The talks focused on expanding coordination on military training, counterterrorism and regional security, building on the steady deepening of ties between Mogadishu and Cairo over the past year. Egypt has emerged as one of Somalia's closest security partners, pledging troops to a new African Union stabilisation mission and delivering military supplies as the Somali government continues its campaign against al-Shabaab. The rapprochement has unfolded against the backdrop of strained relations between both Cairo and Mogadishu and Addis Ababa, after Ethiopia signed a memorandum with the breakaway region of Somaliland to access a stretch of coastline, an arrangement Somalia rejects as a violation of its sovereignty. Egypt, locked in its own dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, has framed its support for Somalia as backing for the country's territorial integrity. Qatar, a longtime backer of Somalia's federal government in Mogadishu, has consistently supported efforts to bolster the country's institutions and stabilise the Horn of Africa.