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November 20, 2020
CAIRO – In an attempt to counter Turkish influence in the Red Sea and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions in the region, there have been reports that Egypt has formed a tripartite front with Israel and Sudan.
Yeni Safak, a Turkish daily close to the Ankara government, reported on November 14 that senior Egyptian, Israeli and Sudanese military officials will hold a meeting, the date and place of which were not disclosed, to discuss security coordination in the country. Red Sea region and plans to limit Turkish influence in the region, at the request of Egypt, as Egypt “is not comfortable” with the Turkish incursion into Somalia. The newspaper said that officials from the General Intelligence Service of Egypt, the Egyptian deputy defense minister and the Egyptian commander of the Southern Region will participate in the meeting.
Commenting on the growing Turkish influence in Somalia and Egypt by joining alliances, Major General Hatem Bashat, a member of the Egyptian Parliamentary Committee for African Affairs, said on November 16 that Egypt is well aware of “malicious” Turkish movements in Somalia to control the Red Sea. Bashat said in a press release that Egypt will protect the Arab world from these ambitions through alliances and agreements, to form a lobby capable of countering any threat, as it did in the Mediterranean Sea through the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum.
Turkish influence in Somalia has recently increased. On November 7, Turkey announced the payment of nearly $ 2.4 million of Somalia’s debts to the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s ambassador to Somalia, Mehmet Yilmaz, promised during a meeting with Somalia Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble in Mogadishu on November 6, to boost Turkey’s unconditional support for Somalia.
On the same day, Roble visited the Turkish military training center, Turksom, in Mogadishu, where he praised the Turkish officers for their high-level training. He said the center “is a model that brings hope for rebuilding the army.”
In this context, Altaqi Mohamed Othman, a Sudanese writer and analyst, told Al-Monitor that Turkey has turned to Somalia to make up for the influence it lost in Sudan following the departure of former President Omar al-Bashir, who was a strategic ally of Erdogan. and granted him the island of Suakin in the Red Sea under his command.
On November 26, 2017, Erdogan had said that Bashir agreed to hand over the administration of Suakin Island in the Red Sea to Turkey. Observers at the time saw that step as an attempt to surround Egypt and undermine its interests in the Red Sea.
Othman added that Bashir’s departure ended Turkey’s ambition to control Sudan, prompting Egypt to draw closer to Sudan and establish military and strategic alliances to preserve Arab security.
On November 14, units of the Saiqa Air Force and elite Egyptians arrived at Marwa Air Base in Sudan to participate in joint Egyptian-Sudanese combat exercises called Nile Eagles – 1, for the first time in American history. two countries.
Commenting on Egypt’s adherence to an alliance with Israel and Sudan, Othman said that Egypt is trying to take advantage of the normalization of ties between Israel and Sudan to build an alliance that confronts Turkish ambitions in the Red Sea. He stated: “This alliance does not only involve three parties. It also includes Saudi Arabia, which has relations with Israel, although not declared given the sensitivity of its position ”.
US President Donald Trump announced on October 23 that Sudan agreed to normalize relations with Israel.
Othman anticipated that this alliance would prove to be strong and successful, given the presence of Israel that fears Turkish and Iranian threats in the Red Sea, to stop Turkish advances in the region.
Amani al-Tawil, an expert on African affairs at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor that it is not the first time that Egypt has sought to establish a lobby capable of confronting Turkey, as it had previously cooperated with Saudi Arabia. to secure the Red Sea through joint exercises to protect Red Sea shipping from any threat.
He noted that Egypt also inaugurated the Berenice military base south of the Red Sea to counter Turkish threats and ambitions in the region. Tawil believes that Egypt’s efforts to incorporate new parties is a good step that will have an effective and powerful impact, particularly as Israel needs to protect the region from any threat in the Red Sea, be it Iranian or Turkish.
Egypt announced on January 22 the start of joint Egyptian-Saudi maritime training exercises called Morgan-16, in the Red Sea, with the aim of boosting maritime security in the region and addressing any threats.
On January 15, Egypt inaugurated the Berenice military base, which is the largest in the Red Sea and in Africa with an area of almost 150,000 feddans (155,000 acres), on the Red Sea coast. The objective is to protect the Arab shores of the Red Sea from any attack.
Tawil said that Turkey seeks to create areas of influence in the Red Sea, given its importance as a main gateway for world trade. “Unfortunately, Erdogan has taken advantage of Somalia’s poverty and civil war to consolidate his influence by controlling the economic and military aspects. [of the country]. This is especially true because Somalia has huge oil resources, while Turkey suffers from a shortage of oil resources. Add to that its distinguished location in the Gulf of Aden and at the entrance to the Red Sea, which makes it a major Turkish target, ”he added.
Somalia’s Acting Trade and Industry Minister Abdullah Ali Hassan said during the Turkey-Africa Economic Forum that trade between Somalia and Turkey grew 37% in the past year, reaching $ 206 million, compared to $ 150 million. in 2017.
On September 30, 2017, Turkey inaugurated a military base, the largest Turkish military training ground outside of Turkey, south of Mogadishu.
Erdogan announced on January 20 the start of oil exploration in Somali waters.
Turkey’s energy imports in 2019 amounted to nearly $ 41.1 billion according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.
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