Egypt's foreign and transport ministers are in Eritrea to bolster economic and commercial ties with the Horn of Africa nation as part of Cairo's boisterous campaign to isolate rival Ethiopia in the strategic region.
Egypt and Ethiopia have been locked for more than decade in a bitter dispute over a dam Addis Ababa has built over the Nile that Cairo fears will reduce its vital share of the river's water. Years of negotiations between the two countries have failed to produce a deal on the operation of the dam.
Egypt's worst fear is that Ethiopia, home to the source of the river's main tributary – the Blue Nile – would not release enough water in the case of a prolonged drought. If that happens, it contends, millions of farming jobs will disappear and its delicate and politically sensitive food balance will be hurt.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir travelled to Eritrea on Saturday when they met President Isaias Afwerki. Mr Abdelatty also separately met with his Eritrean counterpart, Osman Saleh.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Mr Abdelatty emphasised to the Eritrean leader his nation's standing position that the "governance and security” of the Red Sea must remain as the "exclusive responsibility” of the strategic waterway's littoral states.
That was a thinly veiled reference to efforts by Ethiopia – landlocked since Eritrea seceded in 1992 after a long civil war – to gain a permanent foothold on the Red Sea through a deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland. Cairo has vociferously opposed Addis Ababa's move and rallied international and regional opposition to it, insisting that any deal would constitute a breach of Somalia's sovereignty.
"Non-littoral parties have no right to engage in arrangements related to the Red Sea,” the statement quoted Abdelatty as saying, alluding to the initial 2024 between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
Egypt's initiatives in the Horn of Africa region have put mounting pressure on Ethiopia to show flexibility over the water dispute, something Addis Ababa has not shown to date.
However, Sudan – like Egypt a Nile downstream nation – has recently accused neighbouring Ethiopia of aiding the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been fighting the Sudanese military since 2023 in a ruinous civil war.
Egypt on the other hand is the Sudanese military's main foreign supporter, according to sources familiar with Cairo's policies in the region. It maintains that safeguarding state institutions like the military is vital to prevent Sudan from breaking up or plunging into chaos and lawlessness.
The sources said Cairo was using its expertise in building and upgrading infrastructure, particularly ports and roads, to woo Ethiopia's relatively underdeveloped Horn of Africa neighbours and subsequently be given facilities for its navy in the southern Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Egypt has already secured such facilities or outright bases in Djibouti and Eritrea and has deployed as many as 15,000 troops in Somalia as part of a proposed African Union peacekeeping force and a training mission.
However, the sources say part of the Egyptian contingent in Somalia is there to protect the government and foil any attempt by Ethiopia to inspire the ouster of the Mogadishu government and replace it with a less hostile one.
The territories of all three countries – Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia – block Ethiopia’s access to the Red Sea, which it has been desperate to secure.
Egypt has also negotiated for a level of control over Eritrea’s Red Sea port of Asab and Djibouti’s Doraleh port, after the two nations authorised Cairo to upgrade and overhaul the two facilities. Ethiopia relies heavily on Doraleh for commercial shipments. Egypt has also struck military co-operation accords with Kenya and Uganda.
