Somalia and Ethiopia, on Monday, agreed to continue their dialogue in Turkey. Foreign Ministers from the two countries held talks in Ankara on weekend.
Ethiopia and Somalia are locked into a dispute over a controversial MoU signed by Ethiopia with Somaliland in Januray 2024. Landlocked Ethiopia wants access to sea through Somaliland in return for recognizing Somaliland as a country. International community recognizes Somaliland as part of Somalia. But Somaliland, operating as an independent region, wants to be recognizes as a country.
Somalia, in March this year, singed a defense pact with Turkey. Most observers saw it as a countermove by Somalia to stop Ethiopia-Somaliland MoU from being implemented.
On weekend, Ethiopia and Somalia sent delegations to Ankara to resolve their bilateral dispute. Reportedly, in the talks, Somalia offered that Ethiopia can use Hobyo port of Somalia instead of implementing MoU with Somaliland. The offer was rejected by the Ethiopian delegation. Hobyo port, situated in Galmudug regional state of Somalia, is not a fully developed port. Airport in the area is an airstrip only with one runway. The area is known for having security issues. The port is situated more than 300 km away from the Ethiopian border.
Hakan Fidan, Turkish Foreign Minister, in the presence of Taye Atske Selassie Ethiopian Foreign Minister and Ahmed Moallim Fiqi Foreign Minister of Somalia announced that the two sides agreed to meet again in September.
Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling it Joint Ankara Statement. “At the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, H.E. Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. Taye Atske Selassie, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H. E. Ahmed Moallim Fiqi convened on 1st of July, 2024 in Ankara, “it said.
The ministry further said, “The Ministers, through Türkiye’s facilitation, were able to separately have a candid, cordial and forward-looking exchange concerning their differences and explored perspectives towards addressing them within a mutually acceptable framework.”
“The Ministers of Somalia and Ethiopia reiterated their commitment to the peaceful resolution of differences, and expressed their appreciation to Türkiye for its facilitation, as well as its constructive contributions. The Ministers agreed to pursue the ongoing dialogue with a view to resolving their issues and ensuring regional stability. The Ministers agreed to meet in Ankara on 2nd of September 2024 to have a second round of discussions,” the statement concluded.
It seems that the talks ended with no progress. Since the two sides agreed to meet in September, it means Ethiopia will not implement the MoU with Somaliland till its next meeting with Somalia on September 2. In another related development, Somaliland Foreign Minister Dr. Essa Kaid met with Turkish Consul General in Hargeisa. Somaliland FM expressed concern about Turkish intervention in the matter which could delay the implementation of its MoU with Ethiopia. Dr. Essa last month announced that within 2 months, Ethiopia and Somaliland will sign final agreement.
Hassan Sheikh, the President of Somalia, late on Monday, said that Ethiopia was not walking back from the MoU with Somaliland. He said indirect talks in Ankara had been held at the request of Ethiopia.
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