Ahmad 
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud at the Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo, and a military cooperation protocol was signed between the two countries.
The Egyptian presidency said in a statement that El-Sisi stressed his country’s position in support of the unity and sovereignty of Somalia over its lands and rejecting any interference in its internal affairs. The two presidents witnessed the signing ceremony of the protocol.
According to the statement, the discussions between the two parties focused on the situation in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, against the backdrop of Ethiopia’s establishment of a naval base in the “Somaliland” region, where Sheikh Mahmoud condemned Addis Ababa’s plans regarding the separatist region. The two parties also discussed the issue of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
The statement explained that the two leaders welcomed the mutual steps between the two countries to deepen bilateral cooperation, including launching a direct flight line between Cairo and Mogadishu, and opening the Egyptian embassy in its new headquarters in the Somali capital.
The Somali president expressed his appreciation for Egypt’s continued support for Somalia, stressing his country’s keenness to strengthen ties with Egypt in various fields, appreciating “the role of various Egyptian bodies in building the capabilities of Somali cadres in various fields,” according to the statement.
The two sides agreed to intensify consultation and coordination on common regional and international issues, with the aim of achieving stability in the Horn of Africa region.
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