Media: Al-Sisi invites the President of Somalia to visit Egypt after the “Somaliland” crisis

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi invited Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to visit Egypt, conveyed by a high-level delegation from the Egyptian government that visited Mogadishu.

The Somali News Agency confirmed that President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud will visit Egypt in the coming days, to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, in addition to Ethiopian ambitions on Somali lands.

The Somali agency confirmed that Egypt is one of the prominent countries that strongly rejected Ethiopian ambitions and emphasized protecting the unity and sovereignty of Somalia over its entire territory.

The agency explained that the visit comes in response to an official invitation from his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to visit Egypt, noting that the invitation was delivered by the Egyptian delegation that recently visited Somalia, where the Somali president expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Egyptian government for its full support for Somalia.

The Arab Republic of Egypt had stressed, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the necessity of full respect for the unity and sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia over its entire territory, stressing its opposition to any measures that would undermine Somali sovereignty, and stressing at the same time the exclusive right of Somalia and its people to benefit from its resources.

Egypt has appreciated, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the danger of the increase in official movements, procedures and statements issued by countries in the region and outside it, which undermine the factors of stability in the Horn of Africa region and intensify tensions between its countries, at a time when the African continent is witnessing an increase in conflicts. Conflicts that require concerted efforts to contain them and deal with their repercussions, instead of fueling them irresponsibly.

The statement stressed the need to respect the objectives of the Constitutive Law of the African Union, including defending the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of member states, and the principles of the Union, which stipulate the necessity of respecting the existing borders upon achieving independence and not interfering with any member state in the internal affairs of another state.

Egypt called for upholding the values ​​and principles of cooperation and joint action in order to achieve the interests of the peoples of the region, and refraining from engaging in unilateral measures that increase tension and expose the interests of the countries of the region and their national security to risks and threats.

The Somali government had recalled its ambassador to Addis Ababa after the agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland to use the port of Berbera on the Red Sea.

The Somali News Agency (SONA) announced that the Council of Ministers will hold an emergency meeting to take a decision on signing a memorandum of understanding between the government of Ethiopia and the administration of the breakaway region of Somaliland to use the port of Berbera in the Red Sea (Ethiopia, a landlocked country, depends on neighboring Djibouti for most of its maritime trade).

Redwan Hussein, National Security Advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, stated that the memorandum of understanding signed yesterday by Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland President Musa Biyi Abdi paves the way for Ethiopia for maritime trade in the region by granting it access to a rented military base on the Red Sea.

He said Somaliland would also acquire a stake in state-owned Ethiopian Airlines, without revealing further details.

Somaliland has not received widespread international recognition, despite declaring its independence and independence from Somalia in 1991. Somalia says that Somaliland is part of its territory.

Former Libyan Minister of Interior: ISIS cells are present in many countries until now

Former Libyan Interior Minister Saleh Rajab said that ISIS cells are still present in many countries, including Libya.

He added in an interview with “Sputnik” that sleeper cells exist in Iraq, Libya, Syria and some countries.

He pointed out that weak coordination and irregular meetings between Arab security services are among the factors that helped terrorist organizations move across borders and remain in many countries.

He stressed that the division taking place in Libya has a direct impact on the survival of individual terrorist organizations, as they have second-tier leaders.

He added that the arrest of the leader of ISIS in Libya, Hashim Abu Sidra, a Libyan national, confirms the existence of the organization's cells, which requires coordination of efforts between the security services.

He pointed out that the Egyptian authorities could participate or request an investigation into Abu Sidra,  who was responsible for the massacre of Egyptian Copts in Sirte in 2015, based on the signed agreements, as he is responsible for the massacre or has information about it.