By Ebi Kesiena
Egypt has expelled an Ethiopian diplomat in retaliation for Ethiopia’s earlier decision to expel an Egyptian diplomat from Addis Ababa.
Egypt’s state news agency, MENA, reported on Friday that Cairo declared a counselor at the Ethiopian Embassy in Egypt persona non grata and gave him 48 hours to leave the country.
A senior Egyptian official said the move followed Ethiopia’s decision to expel an Egyptian diplomat serving at its embassy in Addis Ababa.
The official said Egypt regretted Ethiopia’s decision and rejected any suggestion that Cairo was interfering in Ethiopia’s internal affairs.
He said Egypt has a policy of not commenting on domestic developments in Ethiopia or other countries, in line with international law and the UN Charter.
The official said Egypt’s decision was based on the principle of reciprocity, under which a country can respond to similar diplomatic action taken against it.
MENA identified the Ethiopian diplomat as Egazi Emelo Borougi.
The Egyptian official also accused Ethiopia of blaming foreign interference for its internal challenges and crises.
“Ethiopia has a history of attributing its failures in managing its internal affairs and its successive crises to alleged foreign interference,” the official said.
The latest diplomatic dispute follows a series of tensions involving Ethiopia and Eritrea. Ethiopia had earlier ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa persona non grata.
It later expelled the Egyptian diplomat from Addis Ababa, prompting Egypt to take the reciprocal action against the Ethiopian diplomat in Cairo.
