Summit in El Alamein: Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia agree to support the unity of Sudan and Somalia and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea

On Sunday, the countries of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia issued a joint declaration following a summit in the Egyptian city of El Alamein, which addressed the issues of crises in Sudan, navigation in the Red Sea and the unity of Somalia, in addition to the water uses of rivers, especially the Nile River.

The meeting was attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, President of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

According to the joint declaration published by the Egyptian presidency, the leaders held “intensive consultations on current regional and international issues and ways to enhance political, commercial and economic cooperation among the four countries, and to enhance consultation and coordination among them.”

The summit also addressed "the necessity of adhering to the basic principles and pillars of international law as they are the basis on which regional stability and cooperation are based, especially respecting the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the countries of the region, upholding the values ​​of good neighborliness, and rejecting interference in the internal affairs of the countries of the region under any pretext."

The declaration also indicated the leaders’ consensus on several issues, including “supporting the unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national institutions of the Republic of Sudan, rejecting the establishment of any parallel entities, encouraging the resumption of the political process with Sudanese ownership and leadership, and supporting national institutions, in addition to the complete rejection of any support for mercenaries.”

The agreement also came to "support the unity and sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and reject any interference or measures targeting its territorial integrity and national sovereignty. It also rejects any recognition or support for the so-called Somaliland, considering that this is considered an infringement on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia."

The leaders also emphasized “supporting the efforts of the Federal Republic of Somalia in combating terrorism, enabling state institutions to extend control over its entire territory, and calling on regional and international partners to provide adequate, sustainable and predictable funding to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), in a way that supports the security transition process in Somalia and enables the mission to implement its mandate in support of the orderly transfer of security responsibilities to Somali forces.”

The Quartet also agreed to "affirm the principle of freedom of navigation and that the governance of the Red Sea is the exclusive responsibility of the riparian countries."

They also stressed "the importance of respecting international law in transboundary rivers, including the Nile River, especially the principle of non-harm, the necessity of cooperation through prior notification, consultation and consensus, and the complete rejection of any unilateral measures that harm the existing water uses of the two states downstream of the Nile River."

According to the announcement, the leaders agreed “to establish a mechanism to follow up on the outcomes of this consultative summit, which will be held periodically and whenever necessary to enhance consultation and coordination among them.”

Ethiopian officials recently accused Egypt, Eritrea, and Sudan of supporting opposition armed factions seeking to overthrow the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, which the three countries denied.

Last Thursday, Addis Ababa declared an Egyptian diplomat “persona non grata” and gave him 48 hours to leave the country, to which Cairo responded with a similar move.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced its intention to close its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, in response to what it described as “direct and indirect acts of hostility and escalation carried out by Eritrea against Ethiopia,” according to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).

For its part, the United States urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to exercise restraint in light of the tensions between the two countries, warning that they may affect the entire region.

The US State Department said in a statement on Sunday that “the Horn of Africa region cannot bear the consequences of a military conflict or another humanitarian crisis,” and that “the outbreak of a conflict would jeopardize existing American cooperation with both countries regarding common interests.”

The Foreign Ministry called on the two countries to "respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their neighbors, exercise the utmost restraint, and return to dialogue and cooperation in accordance with what was agreed upon within the framework of the peace concluded between them in 2018."