CAIRO — On Dec. 2, Capital Ethiopia reported that Ethiopia is preparing to establish a naval base at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, which is considered the first to be based on the coast of Djibouti. Observers believe this Ethiopian move is a new pressure card on the Egyptian regime regarding the negotiation track of the Renaissance Dam. Meanwhile, on Dec. 4, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi telephoned his Djiboutian counterpart, Ismail Omar Guelleh, to stress his readiness to coordinate with him on security and stability issues in Africa.

On Dec. 8, Commander in Chief of the Egyptian armed forces Lt. Gen. Mohamed Zaki ordered a military transport plane with urgent humanitarian aid aboard to head for Djibouti to help it cope with the repercussions of the recent floods in the country.

According to Capital Ethiopia, the Ethiopian navy will be stationed on the coasts of Djibouti, while the naval command and the navy’s headquarters will be based in Bahir Dar, capital of the Amhara region in northwest Ethiopia, under the leadership of Brig. Gen. Kindu Gezu.

This development followed an Oct. 20 visit by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali to Djibouti, during which he met with Guelleh and discussed inaugurating the naval base.