Egypt has condemned the breakaway region of Somaliland over its decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, calling the move a "blatant breach of international law".
Cairo has been a vociferous critic of Israel's decision in December to recognise Somaliland – becoming the first country in the world to do so since the region broke away from Somalia in 1991. Egypt views the move by Israel as a challenge to Cairo's influence in the Horn of Africa and its drive to isolate Ethiopia, with which it is in a dispute over water from the Nile.
Egypt also regards Israel's move to be an attempt to secure a foothold on the Red Sea, close to Yemen, from where the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have fired missiles and drones at ships linked to Israel, disrupting maritime traffic.
Cairo's criticism of Somaliland's embassy decision came during a meeting on Monday between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali, on the sidelines of an Africa-South Korea meeting in Seoul, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Egypt condemns the illegal and rejected step represented by the intention of the so-called Somaliland to open an 'embassy' in occupied Jerusalem," the statement quoted Mr Abdelatty as saying. "It's a blatant breach of international law and relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, as well as constituting a direct breach of the legal and historical status of the occupied city of Jerusalem."
The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future independent state. That part of the city, home to Muslim, Christian and Jewish sites, was captured by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and annexed in 1980. Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital.
Israel, which has had fraught relations with Egypt since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, welcomed Somaliland's decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem. It would be the eighth diplomatic mission in the city. Other countries around the world have embassies in Tel Aviv.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said last month that the opening of the Somaliland mission would be "another significant step in strengthening relations between our countries and nations. We will work together to implement this decision soon."
Egypt has said only littoral Red Sea nations should have permanent access to the waterway. It opposed and rallied regional and global powers against a 2024 bid by landlocked Ethiopia to gain access to Somaliland's Red Sea coast.
Egypt has, meanwhile, forged closer security and military ties with other Horn of Africa nations. It is believed to have 15,000 troops in Somalia, Ethiopia's rival, as part of an advisory mission and a proposed African Union peacekeeping force.
Cairo also has access to naval sites in Eritrea, another of Ethiopia's rivals, as well as Djibouti. Cairo has close ties with both nations and has historically been an ally of Sudan, which also neighbours Ethiopia.
Egypt's government considers the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, built on the Blue Nile, the river's largest tributary, to be an existential threat. Egypt, which has a population of about 109 million, depends on the Nile for nearly all its freshwater needs. It has warned that any reduction in its share of the river's water would wipe out millions of jobs in its agricultural sector and harm food security.
