President Afwerki speaking to the writerThe Eritrean president calls on Saudi Arabia to restore its leadership role in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.
Afwerki said that his experience of more than half a century, between the revolution and state-building phase, made him realize the sensitivity of the position that Eritrea occupies today on the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the mutual regional responsibilities that this imposes.
The dialogue came on the morning of a meeting between President Afwerki and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as part of Saudi efforts to strengthen the Kingdom’s regional presence in Africa and secure its strategic interests in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
President Afwerki speaking to the writerDuring his interview with Al-Tayyar, which lasted for more than two hours and was attended by the Saudi Ambassador to Asmara, Mishal Al-Ruqi, Afwerki stressed the need for Saudi Arabia to reposition itself regionally in a manner commensurate with its global political and economic weight, warning of the expansion of smaller but more active regional powers in the Horn of Africa and along the Red Sea
The Eritrean president stressed that he devoted a large part of his talks with the Saudi Crown Prince to explaining the seriousness of foreign interference in Sudan, the continued flow of weapons and mercenaries, the role played by some countries in fueling the war, and the resulting security imbalances that threaten the entire region.
Afwerki said that restoring Saudi Arabia to its natural role in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea regions would create the required balance, adding that the Kingdom is capable, if it takes its rightful place, of taking charge of the Horn of Africa file and bringing together all its countries in an expanded summit to discuss the region's crises away from external dictates.
Regarding the war in Sudan, Afwerki stressed that the crisis will not be resolved through superficial initiatives, but rather through a genuine cessation of the fueling of the conflict, questioning the usefulness of calls to stop the war at a time when the supply of sophisticated weapons and mercenaries to the Rapid Support Forces continues through land, sea and air corridors from neighboring countries.
He added that the Rapid Support Forces receive the latest types of weapons, in addition to recruiting mercenaries from several countries, which has exacerbated crimes against civilians, including killing, looting, rape, and the systematic destruction of the social and economic infrastructure in Sudan.
Afwerki questioned the motives of some regional parties in raising sensitive issues during the transitional phase in Sudan, including raising normalization issues, or supporting armed groups in the region with weapons that are later transferred into Sudan to prolong the war.
He also pointed to other regional roles that he said contribute to complicating the situation, whether in Libya through arms transfers, or in Yemen through support for separatist projects that threaten the country's unity and open the door to increasing foreign influence. The
Eritrean president concluded by emphasizing that the security of the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa is primarily an international responsibility, and that no lasting stability will be achieved unless foreign interference ceases and the region's affairs are managed by the will of its people.
