Egypt - Eritrea .. A wall of resistance to the interventions of Qatar - Turkey in Africa
Experts for the "Gate of the Eye": These messages to meet Sisi and Afwerki
Tuesday Jan.9 2018
Al Ain News Portal
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Eritrean counterpart Isaias Afwerki
Egyptian experts on the African issue stressed the importance of Egyptian relations with the state of Eritrea, stressing that it is currently a "wall of resistance" to the attempts of the emergence of the country - Turkey in the Horn of Africa, which is of great importance for the security of the Red Sea.
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On Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received his Eritrean counterpart Isaias Afewerki at the Federal Palace on the eve of a two-day official visit to Egypt. During which the two presidents held bilateral talks on cooperation between the two countries, especially with regard to the security of the Red Sea and efforts to combat terrorism.
Majid Abu al-Khair, deputy of the African Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, said that the visit comes within the framework of the Egyptian quest for a strong presence in the Red Sea region and throughout the African continent, stressing the importance of Egypt having good relations with these countries, Egyptian National.
MP Abu al-Khair told Al-Ain Gate that since his assumption of power, al-Sisi has adopted a distinct policy based on Egyptian activity in the south, in order to strengthen cooperation with all African countries, pointing out that cooperation with Eritrea comes in this context, To any other African country (in reference to the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict), explaining that Egypt is working to consolidate its relationship with everyone
For his part, Dr. Hani Raslan, head of the Sudan and Nile Basin Studies Unit at the Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Al-Ahram, said that Afewerki's visit to Egypt is not an exceptional work. It is the fifth visit since the June 30, 2013 revolution, preceded by dozens of visits since taking office About 30 years ago, stressing that bilateral relations between the two countries are always distinguished in all fields.
However, Raslan noted in his interview with Al Ain that this particular visit is especially important, given the existence of a new variable related to the security of the Red Sea, which is related to the attempt to appear in the Red Sea in the Sudanese island of Swakin, although it is a non-riparian state. Followed by a Sudanese-Qatari-Turkish alliance, whose fourth leg extends to Ethiopia.
The expert on the African issue that Eritrea is an important party in this matter, given the length of its coastline and considered an important entry in the Red Sea, and Egypt is also there appropriately, so as to protect its national security in front of the Turkish-Qatari alliance.
Last December, Sudan granted Turkey the right to manage the island of Suakin for rehabilitation to become an important tourist city on the Red Sea.
Rasslan pointed to the tension between Eritrea and the Sudan, Khartoum's closure of the border and the mobilization of its forces in the state of Kassala, the visit of the Sudanese Defense Minister to Addis Ababa and his meeting with officials of the security services and the Ethiopian Prime Minister is an important axis in the talks Sisi and Afwerki.
He pointed out that the Egyptian presence in Eritrea is historic and traditional, and in all the countries of that region, including Somalia, but it has declined in recent years before the Sisi took over, but Egypt is now active again in that region, which is important for its national security, especially the Suez Canal.
He continued: Of course this visit disturbs other countries, but this is their own affair, Egypt is active in places where the main and natural.
The Eritrean president usually confirms that he is Egypt's biggest strategic ally in the Horn of Africa, and that Egypt is the depth of his strategic northern country. His last visit to Cairo last November
*Software translation*
