Qatar is stepping in to resolve Ethiopia Somalia tension. Qatar has been the center of mediatory talks in several global conflicts.
Qatari officials confirmed today that Tamim Ibn Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, had contacted leaders of Ethiopia and Somalia. The Amir separately contacted Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh telephonically.
Villa Somalia, in a statement, confirmed the phone call between Hassan Sheikh and Qatari ruler calling it “productive”.
This week, Abiy Ahmed the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, sent a special message to the Amir of Qatar. Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and Intelligence Agency chief Redwan Hussein delivered this special letter written by Ethiopian PM to Tamim Ibn Hamad Al Thani. The contents of the special message were not made public. It seems that PM Abiy Ahmed requested Qatar to mediate between Ethiopia and Somalia.
Since the start of this year, Ethiopia and Somalia have been locked into a dispute over a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland. Somaliland is internationally recognized part of Somalia. But for the last 3 decades, it has been operating independently, struggling to get international recognition as a country.
The controversial MoU, if implemented, would give landlocked Ethiopia access to sea through Somaliland in return for Ethiopia recognizing Somaliland as a country. Somalia calls this MoU a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Somalia has been rejecting direct talks with Ethiopia since January. It wants Ethiopia to withdraw from the MoU before the start of any direct talks.
Qatar has vast experience of hosting rival groups on its soil for mediation. It hosted Afghan Taliban and facilitated talks between Taliban and the US. It has hosted several rounds of discussions between Israeli and Palestinian groups too since the start of Israel-Hamas war last year.
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