Leader of Somalia's breakaway Somaliland says deal with Ethiopia will allow it to build a naval base
The president of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland has said his government will press ahead with an agreement signed earlier this month with landlocked Ethiopia to give it access to the sea
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The president of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has said his government will press ahead with an agreement signed earlier this month with landlocked Ethiopia to give it access to the sea by way of Somaliland’s coastline.
The deal has been condemned by regional and international groups, as well as Western countries, which say it interferes with Somalia’s territorial integrity and is causing tensions that could threaten stability in the Horn of Africa region.
Somalia has also protested the deal as a threat to its sovereignty by Somaliland, a region strategically located along the Gulf of Aden that broke away from Somalia in 1991 as the country collapsed into warlord-led conflict. Somaliland has not been internationally recognized.
Somaliland's President Muse Bihi Abdi gave more details about the memorandum of understanding he signed on Jan. 1 with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in an interview with Somaliland National Television on Wednesday.
Ethiopia, Abdi said, is seeking to lease a segment of the coastline for a naval base — and not for commercial activities as previously thought. In exchange for leasing a 20 kilometer- (12.4 mile-) stretch of Somaliland's coastline, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent state.
Ethiopia will still be able to conduct its import and export activities through the port of Berbera, the largest in Somaliland. Berbera is not part of the coastline stretch planned for the lease.
With a population of more than 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world. It lost its access to the sea when Eritrea seceded in 1993. Since then, Ethiopia has been using the port in neighboring Djibouti for most of its imports and exports.
Somalia has protested vehemently against the agreement that would grant Ethiopia access to the strategically important Gulf of Aden and beyond that, to the Red Sea.
Somaliland's citizens are divided over the deal, with some seeing potential economic benefits while others fear compromising their sovereignty. The breakaway region's defense minister, Abdiqani Mohamud Ateye, resigned over the deal.
Earlier this month, a meeting of officials from the African Union, European Union and United States reaffirmed their support for Somalia's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, including the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Michael Hammer, U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, said during that meeting that the U.S. is particularly concerned that tensions over the deal could undermine international-backed efforts to combat al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia.
Matt Bryden, a strategic consultant at Sahan Research, a think tank based in Kenya, said several diverse actors in the region could unite against the agreement — including Egypt, Eritrea and even the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants — and oppose a more powerful role of Ethiopia.
“Eritrea is likely to be deeply concerned, given its deteriorating relationship with Ethiopia and its long Red Sea coastline," Bryden said.
Egypt, embroiled in a dispute with Ethiopia over Addis Ababa's construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam that Cairo says could hamper its share of the Nile River water, could also oppose the project, he added.