A war of words erupts between Ethiopia and Egypt

Ethiopia and Egypt exchanged criticism this week. The dispute began after Ethiopia’s ambassador to Somalia rebutted an opinion piece written by Egypt’s foreign minister. The exchange points out increasing strain between the two countries. It also reflects a growing struggle for security influence in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia’s continued push for sea access has further intensified the friction.

In an opinion published in The Africa Report today, Ethiopian ambassador to Somalia Suleiman Dedefo accused Egypt of seeking to reassert itself in the Horn under what he described as a “strategic balance” narrative that concealed long-standing political ambitions. His remarks came in response to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who argued that Egypt was increasing its diplomatic and military engagement to counter regional threats.

The exchange came amid growing intensifying competition for influence across the Red Sea corridor, persistent insecurity in Somalia, and unresolved disputes over the Nile. Cairo and Addis Ababa remain locked in a years-long stalemate over Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Egypt fears will affect its water supply.

Dedefo argued that Egypt’s historical role in the Horn had fueled political divisions and accused Cairo of “militarizing” the region. He claimed Egypt had aligned itself with actors hostile to governments in the Horn, though he did not name them, and said such actions had contributed significantly to instability.

The ambassador rejected Abdelatty’s assertion that Ethiopian troop deployments in Somalia had prolonged insecurity. Ethiopia has maintained soldiers in Somalia for decades, both unilaterally and under African Union mandates, to counter al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab. “Egypt continues to discount the sacrifices Ethiopian soldiers have made for years,” Dedefo wrote, adding that Addis Ababa had supported “successive governments of Somalia” against extremist groups. He also criticised Egypt’s move to join the AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), describing it as an attempt to reposition itself militarily in the region. Egypt maintains that its deployment was made at Somalia’s formal request.

In his opinion, Abdelatty described Ethiopia’s push to obtain maritime access as an “illegitimate” undertaking that threatened the sovereignty of states along the Red Sea. He said regional crises, from Houthi attacks on shipping lanes to Sudan’s civil war and persistent Al-Shabaab activity, required more assertive Egyptian involvement. He framed the Horn of Africa as a strategic extension of Egypt’s national security, citing historic ties, the Nile basin and the Red Sea’s critical importance. “The latest destabilising project is Ethiopia’s bid to secure a naval presence on the Red Sea,” he wrote.

Ethiopia, which became landlocked after Eritrea’s independence in 1993, has repeatedly insisted that its search for sea access would be based on peaceful, negotiated arrangements. In his response, Dedefo argued that Ethiopia’s growing population and economy required reliable maritime outlets and that such efforts should not be interpreted as a threat. He said Ethiopia viewed the Red Sea as a shared security space that would benefit from its participation. “No state can be expected to accept perpetual strategic vulnerability,” he wrote.

Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti have all publicly stated that they oppose any maritime agreement that would compromise their sovereignty. Ethiopia has not announced any formal deal with a Red Sea littoral state.

In August this year, shortly after Dedefo presented his credentials in Mogadishu, Ethiopia’s diplomatic mission in Somalia came under scrutiny when past remarks and social media posts by the ambassador resurfaced. Several comments appeared to “undermine Somalia’s sovereignty and disparage its government,” drawing widespread criticism. The uproar unfolded against an already strained backdrop following Ethiopia’s maritime Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland, which Mogadishu denounced as “a breach of its territorial integrity.”

The diplomatic confrontation between Egypt and Ethiopia comes at a delicate moment for Somalia, where Egyptian troops are expected to deploy under the AUSSOM framework. Their arrival is set to coincide with intensifying tensions between Addis Ababa and Cairo, and at a time when Ethiopia has doubled down on its pursuit of sea access, an ambition that last year triggered a major diplomatic crisis with Somalia and is now stirring wider fears of regional escalation involving Eritrea