By Jerry Omondi
Monday July 25, 2022
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (R) pictured alongside Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at the Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on July 25, 2022. /Villa Somalia
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Monday hosted his Somalia counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for bilateral talks in Cairo as the recently inaugurated leader continues his tour of Egypt.
President el-Sisi at a joint press conference afterwards said they reviewed progress achieved in joint projects between their two countries and agreed on the importance of joint action to strengthen economic development efforts in Somalia.
He pointed out that the discussions revolved around a raft of issues, including security and developments in the overall regional as well as the Horn of Africa region.
“Our political wills were aligned regarding the need to work together toward consolidating security and stability in the strategically important region of our continent,” said el-Sisi.
“This is in addition to intensifying cooperation and coordination between Egypt and Somalia, regarding the security of the Red Sea. We reaffirmed the responsibility of the riparian states to formulate all policies related to the very vital waterway from an integrated perspective, taking into consideration the various development, economic and security aspects.”
Mohamud’s visit to Egypt is his seventh foreign trip since he returned to power in May after winning Somalia’s presidential election.
The Somalia President returned to Mogadishu on Saturday after completing a two-day visit of Tanzania where he attended the 22nd Ordinary Summit of the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State as a special guest. Somalia is still pushing to be admitted into the EAC.
Before visiting Tanzania, Mohamud initially made trips to Kenya, Eritrea, United Arab Emirates, Djibouti and Turkey.