Hargeysa (PP News Desk) — The recent visit of an Egyptian delegation to Somaliland raised Ethiopia’s suspicions that Hargeisa might offer Cairo a naval base.
Dina Mufti, Spokesman for the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry, cautioned against a possible Egyptian military base in Somaliland with the aim to damage Ethiopian interests.
“As a sovereign country, Egypt has a legitimate right to create relationships with any county in the region. If Egypt’s intent to have a presence in the region would be a threat to a third country, that won’t be appropriate,” Ambassador Dina Mufti, told the Nairobi-based Daily Nation. Ambassador Mufti denied that the recent visit to Hargeysa by the Ethiopian Finance Minister related to “concerns over Egypt’s plan.”
Somaliland declared itself an independent republic in 1991. The Federal Republic of Somalia, which retains sovereignty over Somaliland, welcomed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam seen by Egypt as encroaching upon its Nile water rights.
The Somaliland foreign policy is navigating uncharted waters. The self-proclaimed republic formed diplomatic ties with Taiwan, prompting a meeting between the Chinese Ambassador in Somalia and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed of Somalia, who assured the Chinese diplomat that Somalia respects the sovereignty of People’s Republic of China.
© Puntland Post, 2020
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