Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Expatriates Badr Abdelatty discussed on Monday with his Somali counterpart Abdisalam Abdi Ali arrangements for the deployment of Egyptian troops within the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the fifth edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development.
Abdelatty welcomed progress on the deployment and reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to supporting efforts to enhance security and stability in Somalia and the Horn of Africa, as well as its desire to assist the Somali government in consolidating peace and order.
He expressed hope that the deployment procedures would be completed as soon as possible, emphasizing the importance of mobilizing sustainable funding for the mission to enable it to carry out its mandate effectively.
The minister praised the growing momentum in Egyptian-Somali relations and the mutual keenness to expand cooperation in various fields, especially the economic, development and investment sectors.
Abdelatty reiterated Egypt’s commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership and advancing cooperation in security, diplomacy, economy, investment, health and trade. He called for convening the second Egyptian-Somali Business Forum soon, reflecting the steady progress in bilateral ties and the shared desire to deepen them for the benefit of both nations.
He further reaffirmed Egypt’s continued support for building Somali state institutions and achieving security and stability, underlining the need to strengthen Somali unity to face current challenges and restore stability.
The minister stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation in counterterrorism and combating extremism, describing them as major threats to regional security, and called for concerted regional and international efforts to eliminate the roots of terrorism.
For his part, the Somali foreign minister expressed appreciation for Egypt’s continued support to Somalia, affirming keenness to bolster bilateral ties in ways that serve the shared interests of the two brotherly peoples.
Both sides agreed to continue coordination in regional and international fora to address common challenges facing the Horn of Africa, in light of the deep historical and fraternal bonds between the two nations.
