A joint statement by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Somali counterpart, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, said that the two presidents agreed, on Thursday, to enhance cooperation in order to “enable the Somali National Federal Army to confront terrorism in all its forms, and protect its land and sea borders.”

The statement stressed support for the unity, independence, integrity and sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia over its entire territory, and rejected unilateral measures that threaten the unity and sovereignty of the state.

The statement stressed the development and deepening of cooperation and coordination between Egypt and Somalia in order to enhance the capabilities of Somali state institutions to confront various internal and external challenges, and to enable the Somali National Federal Army to confront terrorism in all its forms, protect its land and sea borders, and preserve its territorial integrity.

The statement welcomed the Security Council’s decision to lift the arms export ban to the Federal Republic of Somalia, praising the efforts of the Somali National Federal Army, under the leadership of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, towards strengthening its capabilities and possessing ways to develop its capabilities with the aim of extending the state’s control over its entire territory and preserving its resources and capabilities. 

Relations between Egypt and Somalia grew this year against the backdrop of their common position of mistrust in Ethiopia, which prompted Cairo to send several planes loaded with weapons to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, after the two countries signed a joint security agreement in August.

Ethiopia angered Mogadishu by signing a preliminary agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland to rent a coastal port in exchange for possible recognition of its independence from Somalia.

Egypt denounced the agreement with Somaliland. Cairo has also been at odds with Addis Ababa for years due to Ethiopia's construction of a huge dam on the Nile River to generate hydroelectric power.

Since last January, Mogadishu has strengthened its relations with Cairo, Ethiopia's rival, which particularly opposes the huge hydroelectric Renaissance Dam that Addis Ababa built on the Nile River.

Last September, military officials and two port workers said that an Egyptian warship delivered a second large shipment of weapons to Somalia, which included anti-aircraft guns and artillery weapons, in a move likely to exacerbate tensions between the two countries on the one hand and Ethiopia on the other.