Egypt backs Eritrea in growing maritime dispute with Ethiopia

In a significant move that intensifies regional fissures, Egypt has backed Eritrea in a growing maritime dispute with Ethiopia, affirming its support for Asmara’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The strong show of solidarity, delivered during a summit in Cairo, directly challenges Ethiopia’s recent aspirations for sea access and adds a new, complex layer to the already strained relations between Cairo and Addis Ababa, primarily over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hosted his Eritrean counterpart, Isaias Afwerki, for talks on Thursday where the Red Sea tensions took center stage. A statement from the Egyptian presidency quoted Sisi as emphasizing his country’s “unwavering support for Eritrea’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

This declaration serves as a direct rebuttal to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed‘s recent call for international mediation to secure sea access, a demand that inherently challenges the current borders.

“Egypt takes pride in its deep-rooted strategic relations with Eritrea,” Sisi said, underscoring his keenness to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The Egyptian leader’s remarks signal a concerted effort to bolster Asmara’s position, potentially as a strategic counterweight to Ethiopia in the volatile Horn of Africa.

Afwerki expressed his “deep appreciation for Egypt’s role in consolidating stability” in the region. The high-level meeting comes just days after Prime Minister Abiy articulated Ethiopia’s need for a naval port, describing the country’s landlocked status since Eritrea’s independence in 1991 as an “existential” issue.

The burgeoning Egypt-Eritrea alignment further complicates the geopolitical landscape, intertwining the maritime dispute with the long-running conflict over the GERD.

Egypt, which relies almost entirely on the Nile for freshwater, views the massive dam as a grave threat to its water security. By firmly supporting Eritrea, Cairo appears to be building a diplomatic coalition to increase pressure on Ethiopia from multiple fronts.

Beyond the maritime issue, the two leaders also presented a unified stance on the conflict in Sudan. They stressed the “necessity of supporting national state institutions, foremost the Sudanese Armed Forces, and rejecting any attempts to establish parallel entities.”

This position aligns Egypt and Eritrea with the Sudanese army in its war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Sisi reiterated Cairo’s commitment to ending the war through the Quartet Mechanism and to preserving “Sudan’s unity, territorial integrity, and national sovereignty.”

The convergence of these multiple crises—the GERD, the Ethiopia-Eritrea maritime dispute, and the Sudan war—highlights the interconnected and escalating nature of conflicts across the Nile Basin and the Horn of Africa, with Egypt now taking a more assertive role in shaping alliances.