By HAN News Desk
CAIRO — Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for a five-day official visit to Egypt, following an invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to Eritrea’s Minister of Information.
The visit comes at a sensitive time in the Horn of Africa, as tensions rise between Eritrea and neighboring Ethiopia over regional security and access to the Red Sea. Diplomatic observers believe the trip could be part of ongoing consultations between Asmara and Cairo on regional stability, maritime interests, and the geopolitical shifts currently reshaping the Horn and the Nile Basin.
President Afwerki is expected to hold high-level discussions with President al-Sisi and senior Egyptian officials on strengthening bilateral relations, economic cooperation, and regional security. The talks may also touch on Ethiopia’s controversial ambitions to gain direct access to the Red Sea — a move Asmara has firmly opposed and which Cairo reportedly views as a potential threat to its own strategic interests.
Ethiopia has recently reiterated that securing access to the sea is an “existential necessity,” while Egypt has publicly warned that any attempt by Ethiopia to achieve this through force or coercion would have serious regional consequences.
Eritrea and Egypt have maintained close ties in recent years, often aligning on regional security and Red Sea navigation issues. Afwerki’s visit, his first to Egypt in over a year, is seen as a sign of deepening cooperation between the two nations at a time of heightened political and military uncertainty in the Horn of Africa.
Analysts say the outcome of this visit could influence future alliances in the region, particularly as tensions continue to simmer between Addis Ababa and Asmara following years of uneasy peace after the 2018 rapprochement.
