UPDATE: Somalia condemns 'absurd' Ethiopia, Somaliland MoU on Ehiopia's access to Red Sea
Mogadishu, Somalia (PANA) - Somalia's leaders on Tuesday condemned the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Ethiopia and Somaliland under which landlocked Ethiopia will secure access to seaports in Somaliland.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre rejected the MoU as "illegal" and an “absurd violation” of the country’s sovereignty, the Somali Guardian reported.
The MoU was signed in Addis Ababa on Monday by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Somaliland leader, Muse Bihi Abdi.
President Mohamud condemned the pact that gives Addis Ababa a 20-km access to the Red Sea coast via Somaliland, a region which broke away from Somalia in 1991.
“As a Government, we have condemned and rejected the illegal infringement of Ethiopia into our national sovereignty and territorial integrity yesterday,” Mohamud wrote on X.
“Not an inch of Somalia can or will be signed away by anybody. Somalia belongs to the Somali people. This is final,” he said.
Prime Minister Abdi Barre said on Tuesday the government would "defend the country", after the pact with Somaliland gives Ethiopia a leased military base on the Red Sea.
“I want to confirm that we are committed to defending the country. An inch of our land, sea and air cannot be violated,” the Somali Premier said following an emergency cabinet meeting.
“We are able to defend our country as we have done before. This time, we want to be united and set aside differences between Somalis.”
Somaliland President Abdi said on Monday his government had agreed to give Ethiopia access to a 20-km leased land along the Red Sea in return for Addis Ababa recognising the break-away Somali region.
The Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) quoted the Office of the Ethiopian Prime Minister as saying the MoU for Partnership and Cooperation is intended to serve as "a framework for the multisectoral partnership between the two sides".
"The MoU shall pave the way to realise the aspiration of Ethiopia to secure access to the sea and diversify its access to seaports. It also strengthens their security, economic and political partnership," the Ethiopian Prime Minister said.
Furthermore it also indicates the pathway to bolster their political and diplomatic relations.
"The MoU reaffirms the principled position of the Ethiopian government to advance mutual interests through cooperation on the basis of reciprocity," it pointed out.
It also ushers in "a new chapter of cooperation and has a huge significance for regional integration in the Horn (of Africa)", the Office of the Ethiopian Prime Minister said, adding that it also "enables Ethiopia to enhance its role in maintaining regional peace and security".
The Ethiopian national security adviser, Redwan Hussien, said Somaliland would have a stake in state-owned Ethiopian Airlines.
Ethiopia lost access to the sea when Eritrea broke away in 1993 following a long war and it now relies on Djibouti for its maritime trade. Under the MoU, it will use Somaliland's Red Sea port of Berbera.
The Somaliland President Abdi is quoted as saying that as part of the agreement, Ethiopia would be the first country to recognise the country as an independent nation following its breakaway from Somalia in 1991.
Somaliland is an unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as de jure part of Somalia.
Somaliland has not gained widespread international recognition despite declaring autonomy from Somalia in 1991. Somalia says Somaliland is part of its territory.
-0- PANA MA 2Jan2024
