https://m.jpost.com/middle-east/egypt-i ... ips-669350By SETH J. FRANTZMAN MAY 27, 2021 13:23
Egypt's president is expected to meet Djibouti's president, and planes of humanitarian aid are also coming from Egypt.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is heading to Djibouti, a small country on the horn of Africa, an important first visit for the leader that is part of a network of regional relationships he is building. He is expected to meet the president of Djibouti; planes of humanitarian aid are also coming from Egypt.
Al Ain media in the UAE reports that according to the Egyptian presidential spokesman, Sisi's visit to Djibouti is “historic” and the first of its kind. It is linked to larger regional concerns Egypt has about a dam in Ethiopia. “The visit will witness the holding of an Egyptian-Djiboutian summit, to discuss various files related to joint cooperation and ways to strengthen bilateral relations, especially on the security, military and economic levels.”
Ethiopia began the second phase of filling its giant Renaissance Dam this month. The dam has caused tensions with Egypt, which has been working on closer military ties to Sudan, the UAE, Greece and other countries. Sisi has also been active in Libya, supporting the eastern government in Benghazi against Turkish-backed forces in Tripoli. But even in Libya it appears that Egypt’s star may be rising as it pitches stability and Turkey sends Syrian mercenaries.
Most important, Egypt has helped broker the Hamas-Israel ceasefire. It is an important player trying to reduce conflict. Whereas Iran and Turkey encouraged the Hamas war effort and incited extremism, Egypt was pragmatic and played its traditionally helpful role. It also has gotten more credibility from Washington through this role.
Djibouti is an important station for ships and a strategic base for Western militaries and others. It is important for the security of the Horn of Africa. That matters because it can potentially influence Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen. Egypt long ago played a much more robust role in Yemen in the 1960s. “The two Arab countries seek to achieve common interests that embody the mutual strong will to enhance cooperation frameworks between Egypt and Djibouti,” says Al-Ain.
All of this matters because there is an arc of stability that is in the process of forming. It includes the East Med gas forum and therefore includes Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Greece and the Palestinian Authority. It also includes Israel’s Gulf peace partners, Bahrain and the UAE. And it includes Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Egypt has also wanted to do outreach to Syria’s regime. With a rubber-stamp presidential election there that Bashar Assad is sure to win, that could increase ties as well. Iran plays the opposite role, arming and funding militias and terror groups, and spreading chaos and bankruptcy. Turkey also spreads extremism. Egypt’s foray in Djibouti is thus symbolic and important.
Egypt is slowly building up its strategic relationships
Re: Egypt is slowly building up its strategic relationships
Dumb Agame,
Do you actually believe that Djibouti will sacrifice its relationship with Ethiopia? Of course when you are an Agame, strategic thinking is alien to your mind. That is why agames are in the hole now. Could never know what their long-term interest are.
ዕጉም ቀልባዕባዕ ክትብላ ኣብ ገደል ኣቲኽን።
Do you actually believe that Djibouti will sacrifice its relationship with Ethiopia? Of course when you are an Agame, strategic thinking is alien to your mind. That is why agames are in the hole now. Could never know what their long-term interest are.
ዕጉም ቀልባዕባዕ ክትብላ ኣብ ገደል ኣቲኽን።
Re: Egypt is slowly building up its strategic relationships
Semsami 
What do you know about diplomacy?
Mamo qillo is in shock.
What do you know about diplomacy?
‐------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Egypt Boosts Ties With Ethiopia Neighbors Amid Nile Dam Dispute
Abdel Latif Wahba & Mirette Magdy
May 27, 2021, 7:53 AM PDT
Sisi makes first-ever visit to Djibouti by Egyptian president
Talks on security cooperation follow pacts with Kenya, Sudan
The Blue Nile flows as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam stands beyond in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia during construction in 2019.
Egypt’s president outlined plans to boost security and military ties with the Red Sea state of Djibouti, as Cairo strengthens relations in eastern Africa while mired in a dispute over Ethiopia’s use of the Nile River.
Thursday’s talks between Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and his counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh in Djibouti come amid “exceptional circumstances” and conflicts that represent an “important challenge” in the Horn of Africa, Sisi said in a statement afterward.
He and Guelleh “agreed on the importance of strengthening cooperation to support regional security and stability, and joint action to avoid the spreading of conflicts to neighboring countries, which may threaten the peace and security situation in our dear African continent,” Sisi said.
The visit, billed as the first by an Egyptian president to Djibouti since independence in 1977, took place a day after Kenya’s army said it had signed a “technical agreement on defense cooperation” with the Egyptian military. The North African nation has agreed broadly similar pacts with Sudan, Burundi and Uganda in recent months.
Former French colony Djibouti, which is roughly the size of New Jersey and hosts U.S. and Chinese military bases, is a key trade conduit for neighboring Ethiopia. The latter is the site of a hydropower project that’s set to be Africa’s largest and the subject of a long-running dispute with Egypt.
Ethiopia enacted the first filling phase of the dam on the Nile’s main tributary last year and says it will begin the second one around July. Downstream Egypt and Sudan rely on the Nile for most of their fresh water needs and have urged additional international mediation to secure an agreement on filling and operating the dam before the step is taken.
Sisi has previously warned Ethiopia not to “touch a drop” of Egypt’s water, while urging a negotiated solution. Sudan this week said it had evidence that Ethiopia had resumed pooling the reservoir, a claim the Horn of Africa country denied.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam “affects the vital interests of the entire region,” Sisi said in the statement. He said it was imperative to reach a fair agreement “that fulfills the interests of all and strengthens cooperation and integration between the countries and peoples of the region.”
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https://sputniknews.com/africa/20210527 ... -heats-up/Egypt, Kenya Sign Military Agreement as Dispute With Ethiopia Over Blue Nile Dam Heats Up
01:11 GMT 27.05.2021 by Morgan Artyukhina
Amid a continued impasse over a controversial Ethiopian dam on the Blue Nile, Egypt has signed a defense cooperation agreement with Kenya - the fourth defense agreement with East African nations this year and the second with a nation on Ethiopia’s borders.
Mamo qillo is in shock.