Egypt said on Monday it is aligned with Saudi Arabia on the conflicts in Yemen and Sudan, as well as the question of breakaway region Somaliland, at a time of heightened regional instability and growing rivalry with Abu Dhabi.
During talks in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan stressed their countries’ “identical” positions on “reaching peaceful solutions to the region’s crises”, an Egyptian presidency statement said.
They said solutions must “preserve the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states,” singling out Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and the Gaza Strip.
The meeting comes against a backdrop of widening differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, once close partners in regional politics.
In Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have long supported rival factions within the fragmented, internationally recognised government, which is largely bound by opposition to the Iran-backed Houthis.
Tensions escalated in December when the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council captured two strategic provinces, angering Riyadh.
President Sisi on Monday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s proposal to host an “inclusive conference” for southern Yemeni groups, while Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for de-escalation and a Yemeni-led political settlement.
Sudan is another point of friction, where Egypt and Saudi Arabia back the country’s de-facto leader while the UAE has been accused of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Competition has also extended to the Horn of Africa, a strategically vital region along key global shipping routes.
Saudi Arabia has sought to bolster ties with Somalia’s federal government, while the UAE has cultivated close relations with Ethiopia and Somaliland, a self-declared republic that broke away from Somalia in 1991.
Israel’s recent move to recognise Somaliland, welcomed by some in Abu Dhabi but condemned by Riyadh, has further heightened regional sensitivities.
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© Agence France-Presse
