Ethiopia

Somalia

Egypt

Military & Security

Egypt is reportedly set to deploy troops to Somalia under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission (AUSSOM) to counter the al Qaeda-affiliated militia al Shabaab, which maintains strongholds in central and southern Somalia, Garowe Online reported on Sept. 9.

Somalia, Egypt: Cairo Prepares To Deploy Troops in Somalia, Identifies Key Military Bases

South Sudan

Kenya

Sudan

Uganda

Economics

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

Politics

Science & Technology

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held phone calls on Aug. 21 with his counterparts from Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya during which he stressed Egypt's "categorical rejection of unilateral measures" on the eastern Nile Basin and said "water security" was "existential" for Egypt, Addis Standard reported on Aug. 22.

Egypt: Cairo Courts Upstream Nile Basin States With Promise of Development Support  

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Ahmed Haroun, the former head of Sudan’s banned National Congress Party, or NCP, said the Islamist movement could support prolonged rule by the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, following a hypothetical end of Sudan’s civil war, Reuters reported on July 25. 

Sudan: Islamists Hint at Long-Term Partnership With SAF

Eritrea

Turkey

Turkey-mediated technical talks between Ethiopia and Somalia over Ethiopia potentially securing maritime access to Somali ports have been suspended indefinitely, Africa Intelligence reported on July 9.

Ethiopia, Somalia: Turkey-Led Mediation Over Maritime Access Indefinitely Suspended

United States

Libya

Greece

Egypt asked the United States to press Libyan National Army field marshal Khalifa Hifter and Libya's eastern parliament not to approve the 2019 Turkey-Libya agreement establishing their maritime border, Middle East Eye reported on July 2.

Libya: Egypt Pushes U.S. To Pressure Eastern Libya Not To Ratify 2019 Libya-Turkey Maritime Agreement

Israel

Jordan

Israel's Chevron-operated Leviathan and Karish gas fields resumed operations on June 25 after the June 24 Israel-Iran ceasefire went into effect, Reuters reported on June 25.

Israel: Largest Gas Field Resumes Operations After Ceasefire

Angola

Benin

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Cabo Verde

Cote d'Ivoire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Liberia

Malawi

Niger

Nigeria

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Antigua and Barbuda

Dominican Republic

Saint Lucia

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Syria

Cambodia

Tonga

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

Kyrgyzstan

Bhutan

The U.S. State Department issued a memo giving 36 countries 60 days to meet new department requirements or be added to a travel ban implemented on June 9, The Washington Post reported on June 14.

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

Lebanon

Jordanian diplomats quietly secured U.S. funding for projects focused on desalination, direct budget support and defense following the sudden U.S. aid freeze announced in January, Reuters reported on April 30.

U.S., Jordan: Washington Unfreezes Some Aid to Jordan

Assessments

Iran

Iraq

Qatar

Yemen

A picture taken from a distance shows the damaged building (L) in the Qatari compound housing members of Hamas' political bureau on Sept. 10, 2025. Israel targeted the building the previous day in a strike in Qatar's capital, Doha. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Israel's Sept. 9 airstrikes in Qatar will likely harden the stances of Iranian-backed groups, keep normalization with Saudi Arabia off the table and drive more assertive postures from other regional states.

The Regional Implications of Israel's Strikes in Qatar

Snapshots

China

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (center right) meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (center left) in Cairo on July 10, 2025.

In the coming years, Egypt will deepen its economic ties with China via increased trade and investment, while simultaneously maintaining its military alliance with the U.S. to address regional security concerns.

Egypt Navigates Its Needs for Chinese Investment and U.S. Military Support

Palestinian Territories

Europe

Philippe Lazzarini (C), the commissioner general for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, attends a humanitarian conference for Gaza in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 2, 2024, amid the continuing Israel-Hamas war.

Egypt's economic limitations will continue to restrain its assertiveness in foreign policy, constraining its ability to project power in the region.

Egypt's Economic Priorities Sideline Assertive Foreign Policy

Algeria

Morocco

Tunisia

Egyptians protest in front of the Rafah border crossing, rejecting the proposed displacement of Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, on Jan. 31, 2025. 

Pro-Palestinian protests will persist regionwide amid allegations of Israeli ceasefire violations, but Morocco and Egypt will avoid taking action that could jeopardize their access to Israeli weapons and energy.

How Will North African Governments Respond to Ardent Pro-Palestinian Sentiment?

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the Shijaiyah neighborhood, Gaza City, on Jan. 28, 2025, following the Hamas-Israel ceasefire.

Egypt and Jordan will reject Trump's current proposal to resettle over a million Palestinians from Gaza to their territories due to fears of stoking domestic unrest, but they will likely permit smaller, gradual resettlements via illegal smuggling routes.

Trump Wants Egypt and Jordan To Take in Palestinians From Gaza. Will They Do It?

A smoke plume rises above destroyed buildings in northern Gaza on Jan. 13, 2025.

The truce will improve Israel's ties with Lebanon and Egypt, but eventual violations could reignite regional tensions, as could Israel's intensified counter-insurgency operations in the West Bank.

The Regional Implications of the Gaza Ceasefire

The Geopolitics of Water

In the coming decade, water scarcity will likely contribute to the erosion of Egypt's economic and political independence, including its ability to act unilaterally against other countries vying for water along the Nile basin.

The Geopolitics of Water: The Threat to Egypt's Independence

An exterior view of the building of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters is seen on March 27, 2020, in Washington, D.C. 

The partial privatization of state- and military-owned assets will increase Egypt's foreign currency reserves, but it will likely only somewhat boost productivity and business competition.

IMF Pressure Breathes New Life Into Egypt's Privatization Efforts

South Africa

Brazil

Indonesia

Russia

Moldova

India

Vehicles pass by a banner thanking outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and congratulating President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka ahead of their Oct. 20 inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 17, 2024.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Case in Kenya, an Inauguration in Indonesia

A Somali National Army soldier participates in a military drill in Mogadishu on March 19, 2024.

Egypt and Somalia's deepening security coordination risks triggering armed clashes with Ethiopia that could undermine regional counterterrorism efforts and inflame ethnic tensions.

The Horn of Africa Braces for Conflict as an Anti-Ethiopia Alliance Takes Shape

Middle East and North Africa

Bahrain

Kuwait

Oman

Population growth, security vacuums, bad governance and climate change will increasingly strain the desert region's already scarce water supplies, raising the risk of social unrest, interstate conflict and violence from non-state actors.

The Geopolitics of Water: In the Middle East, Water Will Increasingly Become a Weapon and Driver of Conflict

Internally displaced people walk past the Tigrayan flag at the Tsehaye camp in Ethiopia's Shire, Tigray region, on July 16, 2024. 

Factionalism within the Tigray region's ruling party raises the prospect of resurging clashes in the region, threatening to undermine Ethiopia's recent peace and economic gains.

Tigray's Leadership Tussle Bodes Ill for Ethiopia

Located in the northeast corner of Africa, Egypt lies at the heart of the Arab World. Comprised of mostly uninhabitable desert, 99 percent of the country's 93 million people live along the banks of the Nile River. This region, from the Aswan High Dam to the Mediterranean shore is Egypt's core.    The Nile, while not commercially navigable, forms the basis of Egypt's irrigation-dependent agricultural sector. The long, narrow stretch of population requires expensive infrastructure development — especially related to transportation, straining the capital-poor government's resources.     The desert topography demands a great deal of investment on a national scale necessitating a strong central state, helping to explain Egypt's history of authoritarian regimes beginning with the pharaohs.     Egypt's main geographic challenge has been to develop beyond the narrow Nile corridor and project power eastward. The Saharan desert has largely insulated the Nile core from its western flank and contained Egypt's westward expansion.    Egypt has been able to translate its strong central government and border with Israel into developing a relationship with the United States, the key foreign backer protecting the Suez Canal and the northern coastline. This area contains the majority of Egypt's offshore hydrocarbon reserves.    The Sinai Desert has traditionally been the overland route of foreign invasion, but its more manageable geography also accommodates Egyptian attempts to interact with the Levant and Arabian Peninsula and competition with Saudi Arabia for the role of regional Arab hegemon.

The Difficulties of North African Reform

Egypt's Uphill Battle

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

SITUATION REPORTS

Somalia, Egypt: Cairo Prepares To Deploy Troops in Somalia, Identifies Key Military Bases

Egypt: Cairo Courts Upstream Nile Basin States With Promise of Development Support

Sudan: Islamists Hint at Long-Term Partnership With SAF

Ethiopia, Somalia: Turkey-Led Mediation Over Maritime Access Indefinitely Suspended

Libya: Egypt Pushes U.S. To Pressure Eastern Libya Not To Ratify 2019 Libya-Turkey Maritime Agreement

Israel: Largest Gas Field Resumes Operations After Ceasefire

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

U.S., Jordan: Washington Unfreezes Some Aid to Jordan

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