Ethiopia recognizes Somaliland in exchange for access to the Red Sea

Secessionist region of Somalia reaches agreement with Ethiopia in exchange for recognition as a country. Somali Prime Minister says the agreement is illegal and violates sovereignty. Ethiopia will internationally recognize Somaliland, a secessionist region that proclaimed itself independent from Somalia in 1991, as a country, receiving in exchange access to the Red Sea for 50 years, he said on Tuesday (02 /01) the president of Somaliland, Muse Bihi Abdi.

“In exchange for 20 kilometers of maritime access for Ethiopian naval forces for a period of 50 years, Ethiopia will formally recognize the Republic of Somaliland,” said the head of government.

Somaliland would also receive a stake in state-owned airline Ethiopian Airlines, he added.

Abdi stressed that the agreement with Ethiopia constitutes “an important diplomatic milestone” for Somaliland, highlighting “the spirit of cooperation and the strategic partnership established” between the two governments.

“Illegal agreement”

The Somali government reacted, calling the ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations following the agreement between the Ethiopian government and the authorities of Somaliland, which is located in the north of Somali territory.

Somalia's Prime Minister, Hamza Abdi Barre, said that his government rejects the “illegal agreement” and stressed that the agreement is a violation of the country's territorial integrity.

The official stressed that “no one can entrench themselves on land and at sea in Somalia”, while also stressing that the authorities are “fully committed” to defending the country’s sovereignty, according to Somali public broadcaster SNTV.

Somalia guaranteed that it will defend the territory by “all legal means” and described the agreement as a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.

Loss of access after Eritrea's independence

The authorities of Ethiopia and Somaliland signed this Monday a memorandum of understanding to give Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa with around 120 million inhabitants, access to the Red Sea through the port of Berbera.

Ethiopia had access to the Red Sea when it formed a federation with Eritrea, a former Italian colony, in the 1950s and annexed the country in 1962. However, it lost access to the sea in 1993 when Eritrea regained its independence after a three-decade war between the two countries.

Currently, Ethiopia, which is the most populous of the landlocked countries, depends on the port of Djibouti for exports and imports.

Somaliland, a British protectorate until 1960, is not recognized internationally, neither by the UN nor the African Union, although it has its own Constitution, currency and government and, until now, has recorded economic development and political stability superior to that of Somalia.

The region declared its separation from Somalia, a former Italian colony, in 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown.

On December 28, the presidents of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Somaliland reached an agreement in neighboring Djibouti to hold talks to “find common ground”, after several unsuccessful attempts at dialogue.

Somaliland is now in a political crisis, after Abdi decided to extend his mandate – which should have ended in November – for a period of two years and canceled regional elections, scheduled for November 2024.

md/as (Lusa, Efe, AP, Reuters)