Diplomacy dominated the airwaves last night, with the nation's talking heads honing in on talks between Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and his Somali counterpart Hamza Abdi Barre in Cairo, while also touching on ongoing developments in the West Bank and Gaza.

Madbouly affirmed “Egypt’s full support for brotherly Somalia and the Egyptian state’s keenness to support the unity of Somalia” during his meeting with Barre, according to a cabinet statement. Barre echoed Madbouly’s sentiments, expressing his “appreciation for the support that the Egyptian state has provided Somalia at a time when certain forces are attempting to divide the country.”

Ahmed Moussa was quick to jump in with his own comments on the highly publicized set of diplomatic meetups, telling his viewers on Ala Mas'ouleety that “Ethiopia constantly causes problems with its neighbors in the Horn of Africa and across the continent, including in Eritrea and Somalia. The country that hosts the African Union headquarters should be a nation of peace, but Addis Ababa is the opposite” (watch, runtime: 6:47, 4:23). “Ethiopia decided in January to occupy part of Somalia’s territory and wants to seize a portion of the country’s coastline for 50 years,” Moussa said, adding that “Egypt’s turn to Somalia was based on their requests, as Egypt never interferes in the affairs of any other country.”

“Egyptian forces are in Somalia in their capacity as peacekeeping forces, as well as to train and assist Somali forces,” stated Moussa, noting that this is carried out by the Egyptian Armed Forces and other state institutions within the framework of the military cooperation protocol between the two countries.

Amr Adib also voiced his support, telling his viewers on El Hekaya that “the steps Egypt is taking are very good and are yielding results,” (watch, runtime: 2:20, 2:10). This is particularly “when you’re in a place where someone is competing with you for your water,” Adib explained, adding that “Egypt does not compromise on its national security, and it can be anywhere and use any tool. Anything that threatens our borders threatens Egyptian national security, and when any country decides to be present in an area to protect its national security using all means necessary under international law, there is nothing wrong with that.”

“The more passive you are, the more others will expand over you, and you shouldn't give anyone a chance to expand over you,” Adib argued. “You have clear interests, you have a great historic army, and you have a state with interests in the region. You are not an aggressor; you haven't taken anyone's livelihood, water, or gas.”

Developments in Palestinian territories also attracted the attention of various talk show hosts, with Ahmed Moussa telling his viewers that "Every time we get closer to reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins placing new obstacles, the latest being his refusal to withdraw Israeli forces from the Philadelphi Corridor” (watch, runtime: 3:29). Moussa argued that "Netanyahu does not want peace in the region"

"Israel is a rogue state, seeking to maintain a persistent area of tension in the region that remains unresolved in order to gain the support of the United States and Western backing," said former Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy in an interview with Faten Abdel Maaboud on her program Salaat El Tahrir (watch, runtime: 3:43). “Israel is playing a dangerous game in the region that could have significant consequences,” Fahmy said (watch, runtime: 4:53).

"Arab reliance solely on the United States to resolve the Palestinian issue was a very big mistake," Fahmy said (watch, runtime: 5:58). "The United States is not a neutral party and its internal political structure does not allow it to play the role of initiator or driver of negotiations in the Middle East."

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