Relationship dossier
Egypt
Eritrea
Relationship assessment
Egypt and Eritrea cooperate on regional security, with the scope of their broader partnership unclear.
Egypt toward Eritrea
+35Egypt's government has pursued regional security coordination with Eritrea. In October 2024, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in Asmara and agreed on coordination with Somalia concerning regional security and Somali sovereignty.
Eritrea toward Egypt
+35Eritrea's government has engaged Egypt in regional security coordination. In October 2024, President Isaias Afwerki hosted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Asmara, and the two governments agreed to coordinate with Somalia on regional security and Somali sovereignty.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship has a cooperative regional-security dimension, including the 2024 Egypt-Eritrea-Somalia coordination on security and Somali sovereignty. The breadth and durability of bilateral cooperation beyond this initiative are unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Egypt and Eritrea have engaged in high-level cooperation on Red Sea and Horn of Africa security. In October 2024, their presidents met in Asmara and agreed to coordinate with Somalia on regional security and its sovereignty. The relationship appears cooperative, though the scope and implementation of this coordination and the breadth of other bilateral cooperation are unclear.
Key developments
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited Asmara and met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki; the governments agreed to coordinate with Somalia on regional security and Somali sovereignty.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the 2024 regional security coordination are unclear.
- The extent of other bilateral economic and security arrangements is unclear.
- Eritrea's position on Egypt's Nile water dispute with Ethiopia is unclear.