Egypt will participate in the new African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) at the request of the Somali government, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said.
"Egypt will participate in the African Union mission that will be deployed in Somalia and will replace the current ATMIS [African Union Transition Mission in Somalia] mission. Egypt decided to participate at the request of the Somali government," Abdelatty said on Monday during a joint press conference with Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi in Cairo.
The Egyptian minister added that the parties agreed to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership.