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- Sisi: Cross-border issues require cooperation, dialogue, and respect for the sovereignty of countries
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi emphasized, on Sunday, the importance of dealing with cross-border issues as issues that require cooperation and dialogue, including the management and use of natural resources and transboundary rivers.
Sisi stressed during the opening session of the coordination meeting of the African Union and regional economic groupings in the Egyptian city of El Alamein that Egypt reaffirms its firm position rejecting any external interference in the internal affairs of African countries, and calling for respect for the sovereignty of countries and the unity and integrity of their territories.
A diplomatic source reported that a mini-summit will be held on Sunday in El Alamein, Egypt, bringing together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, and Sudanese military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on the sidelines of an African business forum.
The United States called for restraint and dialogue in the Horn of Africa, where Ethiopia accuses neighboring countries of supporting the rebellion in the Tigray region, while leaders of Eritrea, Egypt, Somalia, and the Sudanese military are expected to meet in Egypt on Sunday amid these developments.
The US State Department said in a statement that growing border tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea could affect the entire region, and the Horn of Africa cannot withstand another military conflict and humanitarian crisis.
It added, "We strongly urge Ethiopia and Eritrea to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their neighbors, exercise the utmost restraint, and return to dialogue."
Ethiopia accuses Eritrea, Egypt, and the Sudanese army of supporting the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
In turn, Ethiopia is accused of supporting the Rapid Support Forces, which have been at war with the Sudanese army since 2023.
Relations between Ethiopia and Egypt are strained over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River, while Cairo has strengthened its relations with Eritrea in recent months.
Somalia is watching with concern the rapprochement between Addis Ababa and Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991.
Reports on Sunday said that Ethiopian forces had fully taken control of Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region, while a drone attacked the Ethiopian capital.
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