The Ethiopian government announced today, Tuesday, that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a memorandum of understanding with the President of Somaliland, Musa Bihi Abdi, ensuring that Ethiopia will have a maritime outlet through the Somali region. Immediately, the Somali Federal Government rejected the memorandum, with the Somali Cabinet stating that the agreement between Ethiopia and the Somaliland administration regarding the use of a maritime outlet is "illegal," "baseless," and a "flagrant violation" of the internal sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
The spokesperson for the Somali Federal Government, Farhan Mohamed Jumale, condemned what he called Ethiopia's violation of the sovereignty of the Somali Republic. Ethiopia, a landlocked country, relies on neighboring Djibouti for most of its maritime trade.
Ridwan Hussein, national security advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, stated that the memorandum signed yesterday between Abiy Ahmed and Musa Bihi Abdi paves the way for Ethiopia's maritime trade in the region by providing access to a leased military base on the Red Sea. He noted, "Somaliland will also receive a share in the state-owned Ethiopian Airlines," but did not disclose further details.
Somaliland has not received widespread international recognition, despite declaring independence and self-governance from Somalia in 1991. Somalia asserts that Somaliland is part of its territory.
Last week, the Suna Agency reported that "Somalia and Somaliland agreed to resume talks to resolve their disputes, following mediation efforts led by Djibouti."
