CAIRO (SD) – Turkey and Egypt have held two rounds of talks regarding the Horn of Africa and Libya.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on its Facebook page that these talks focused on the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region.

The discussions were led by Egypt’s Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Ihab Awad, and Turkey’s Director General for Eastern and Southern Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elif Ulgen.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt stated that both sides reached agreements and understandings on ways to maintain security and stability in the Horn of Africa, allowing the return of Red Sea maritime navigation.

The statement added that Turkey and Egypt will strengthen their cooperation to achieve their common goals in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, while also supporting Somalia’s efforts to combat terrorism and build its national army.

Both Egypt and Turkey have supported opposing sides in the Libyan conflict, with Cairo backing the eastern-based forces of Khalifa Haftar and Ankara providing significant support to the Tripoli-based government.

However, both countries have extended support to Somalia. Turkey signed a historic defense agreement with Somalia in February, pledging to protect Somalia’s waters. Similarly, Egypt signed a military cooperation agreement with Somalia, allowing Egyptian troops to be part of the African peacekeeping forces in Somalia.

This move by Egypt is believed to be aimed at Ethiopia, as Somalia accused Ethiopia of interfering in its internal affairs following a maritime agreement between Addis Ababa and Somaliland.