Ethiopia, a landlocked nation has recently entered into a preliminary agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland in Somalia to gain access to the Red Sea port of Berbera, as confirmed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office. This move comes as Ethiopia currently depends heavily on the neighboring country of Djibouti for the majority of its maritime trade.
Ethiopia was cut off from the coast after Eritrea broke away from Addis Ababa and formally declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade war.
As of now, this agreement has been formally established with our counterparts in Somaliland, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today,” announced Prime Minister Abiy on Monday during the signing ceremony held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, alongside Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi. a landlocked nation
Describing the accord as “historic,” Abiy’s office emphasized that it would significantly contribute to fulfilling Ethiopia’s aspiration to secure sea access and broaden its connectivity to seaports. The agreement is anticipated to fortify the mutual security, economic, and political collaboration between the two nations, as highlighted in a post on X.
This agreement follows Prime Minister Abiy’s assertion, made months ago, that Ethiopia must assert its rightful access to the Red Sea, a statement that raised concerns among neighboring countries in the region.
As a component of this agreement, President Muse Bihi Abdi has stated that Ethiopia is poised to become the first nation to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent sovereign state in the foreseeable future.
This agreement facilitates Ethiopia’s entry into commercial maritime activities in the region by granting access to a leased military base on the Red Sea, as explained by Prime Minister Abiy’s national security adviser, Redwan Hussien.
As part of the arrangement, Somaliland is expected to acquire a stake in the state-owned Ethiopian Airlines, although specific details were not provided, according to Hussien.
It’s worth noting that despite declaring autonomy from Somalia in 1991, Somaliland has not received widespread international recognition. Somalia maintains that Somaliland is an integral part of its territory.
In a recent development, Somalia’s state media agency SONNA reported that, with the mediation efforts led by Djibouti, Somalia and Somaliland have agreed to resume talks aimed at resolving their longstanding disputes.