Djibouti has offered Tadjoura port to Ethiopia to resolve the deadlock between Ethiopia and Somalia. Foreign Minister of Djibouti disclosed this offer in an interview.
Mohammed Ali Yusuf, the Foreign Minister of Djibouti, in an interview said that Djibouti is on the verge of making an offer to Ethiopia. He said Ethiopia can have full management of Tadjoura port.
Ethiopia, a landlocked country, has been using Djibouti port for around 3 decades. Earlier this year, Ethiopian government complained that Djibouti authorities were charging high port fees. The Ethiopian government announced that it wanted to diversify use of ports and gain full access to a port.
Ethiopia signed an MoU with Somaliland in January this year to gain access to sea through Somaliland. The MoU is being opposed by Somalia which calls it a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity as Ethiopia could recognize Somaliland as a country in return of getting sea access.
Djibouti’s economy relies heavily on port fees earned from handling Ethiopian cargo. Diversion of Ethiopian cargo from Djibouti to Somaliland could strike a serious blow to Djibouti’s fragile economy.
Djibouti opposes Ethiopian government’s MoU with Somaliland. It remains to be seen if Ethiopian government will accept Djibouti’s offer about use of Tadjoura port. The port is situated around 100km away from the Ethiopian border.
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