Two Egyptian planes carrying personnel and equipment have landed at Aden Adde airport in Mogadishu, which shows the first step taken by the defense and security cooperation agreement between Somalia and Egypt.
The arrival of the C-130 aircraft followed a meeting two weeks ago in Cairo between the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in which the two leaders reached a defense agreement to strengthen relations between the two countries. bringing security to the region. cooperation.
The Somalia-Egypt deal is seen as part of a wider strategy by Cairo to increase its influence in the region, especially in light of its ongoing rivalry with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. GERD) in the Blue Nile River.
Egypt, which sees the GERD as a major threat to water security, is likely to take advantage of its new defense relationship with Somalia to balance Ethiopia’s growing influence in the Horn of Africa.