President Sisi says Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia or its security

Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia or its security, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday, according to a statement from the presidency, after Ethiopia said it would consider recognising an independence claim by Somaliland.

Trying to "jump on a piece of land" to try to control it is something that no-one will agree to, Sisi said in a news conference with Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Cairo.

In a memorandum of understanding signed on Jan. 1, Ethiopia said it would consider recognising Somaliland's independence in return for gaining access to the Red Sea. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but it has not won recognition from any country.