Red Sea & Horn of Africa Diplomacy: Arab and Islamic foreign ministers, including Djibouti, condemned Somaliland’s planned embassy opening in occupied Jerusalem, calling it “illegal and unacceptable,” as Israel’s recognition of Somaliland continues to reshape regional alliances and trade-security calculations. Regional Health Security: IGAD launched a $31.9m PREPARE project to strengthen cross-border pandemic preparedness in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, with WHO as implementing entity and IFRC as delivery partner. Djibouti-linked Development Finance: AfDB and the World Economic Forum unveiled Africa-focused investment frameworks to tackle a roughly $400bn annual financing gap, with pilot programs already running in Djibouti alongside Liberia, Somalia and Mozambique. Somalia Humanitarian Pressure: Aid agencies and Catholic Church leaders warned Somalia is nearing catastrophe, citing 6.5m people facing acute food insecurity and 1.8m children with acute malnutrition—an urgent call for sustained support. AI & Skills Push: Ethiopia announced plans for an AI university starting in 2026 (opening in 2027), aiming to build local capacity and attract regional students. Maritime Strategy Talk: India joined a Quad intelligence-sharing push with the U.S., Japan and Australia for maritime surveillance across the Indian Ocean, drawing criticism from Beijing.