Appointed to head his portfolio for the first time in 2005, 56-year-old Mahmoud Ali Youssouf is an experienced foreign affairs minister. Although he was expected to take over the government after President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh’s re-election to a fifth term in April 2021, Youssouf was reappointed to his role as head of diplomacy, which he knows inside out, just like the geopolitics of the sub-region.
At a time when the situation in Ethiopia is beginning to raise fears about the stability of the Horn of Africa and beyond, he discusses what is at stake.
What five-year roadmap has the head of state given you?
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf: First of all, we want to continue to preserve peace and stability in our country and the region. This is a cross-border issue today because what happens in our neighbouring countries automatically affects us, both in terms of security and health, but also in
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