Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki travelled to Cairo on Saturday for a three-day official visit amid regional tensions over a Somaliland-Ethiopia maritime deal and a controversial Nile dam.
Afwerki’s delegation included his foreign minister Osman Saleh, Eritrean information Yemane G. Meskel said on X.
Discussions between the Egyptian and Eritrean sides will focus on the enhancement of bilateral ties and regional and international issues, Meskel added.
The Eritrean leader’s trip came weeks after Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry visited Asmara while carrying a message from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Afwerki.
That visit came as tensions rose in the Horn of Africa over an agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland that would give Addis Ababa access to a naval base on the Gulf of Aden in exchange for it recognizing Somaliland’s independence.
Somalia strongly opposed the agreement, saying it considers Somaliland to be a region within its own territory.
Egypt also rejected the deal as a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.
Egypt has historically had a complex relationship with Ethiopia due to disputes over the use of the Nile River waters and the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
