MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s government said that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will not engage in a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed unless the latter rescinds a contentious sea access deal with the breakaway northern region of Somaliland, signed in January.
This comes after Kenyan President William Ruto announced on Saturday that he, along with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, would spearhead efforts to facilitate a direct meeting between the leaders of Ethiopia and Somalia, the first since Addis Ababa’s controversial MoU with Somaliland.
“Somalia welcomes the regional leaders’ efforts to maintain peace, security, and stability in the HoA,” said Somali ambassador to Tanzania Ilyas Ali Hassan.
“However, its position remains unchanged: unless the January 1, 2024, MoU is declared null and void and Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity must be respected.”
Turkey had previously sought to mediate talks between Somalia and Ethiopia in a bid to resolve their dispute over a stretch of land along the Red Sea, which Somaliland had leased to Ethiopia for the construction of a naval base. The move, which triggered outrage in Mogadishu, was decried as a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, all efforts to broker a resolution ended in dismal failure, as two rounds of negotiations in Ankara yielded no progress.
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