Ethiopia and Somalia on Wednesday agreed to hold “technical talks” to resolve a dispute sparked by Ethiopia’s deal with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, according to a statement following talks in Turkey.
Turkey has been mediating between the two east African countries as tensions between them have simmered since Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland in January to lease land along its coastline to establish a marine force base.
In return, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland’s independence, which Somalia says infringes on its sovereignty and territory.
Photo: AFP / Turkish Presidental Press Service
A joint declaration was reached after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met separately with Somalian President Hassan Sheik Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday.
The sides agreed that the talks, which would begin by February and conclude within four months, would respect Somalia’s territorial integrity while recognizing “potential benefits” of Ethiopia’s access to the sea, the statement says.
The sides would work to “finalize mutually advantageous commercial arrangements” to allow Ethiopia “to enjoy reliable, secure and sustainable access to and from the sea,” under Somalian sovereignty, it says.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago, but is not recognized by the African Union or the UN as an independent state. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory.
Somaliland has built a stable political environment, contrasting sharply with Somalia’s ongoing struggles with insecurity amid deadly attacks by al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabaab. Somaliland last month held a presidential election that boosted its push for international recognition.
Erdogan, flanked by Mohamud and Abiy, told reporters at a news conference in the Turkish capital that the sides have reached an “important stage” in efforts to solve their dispute.
The joint declaration focuses “on the future and not the past,” he said. “By overcoming some resentments and misunderstandings, we have taken the first step toward a new beginning based on peace and cooperation between Somalia and Ethiopia.”
He also said he hoped Somalia would take steps to give Ethiopia sea access.
Abiy said that “Ethiopia’s aspiration for secure access to the sea is a peaceful venture and one that would benefit all our neighbors.”
“I believe that today’s constructive discussions will push us into a new year with this spirit of cooperation, friendship and the willingness to work together instead of against each other,” he said.
Mohamud said that the Horn of Africa is a “very fragile and very volatile region, which needs both Ethiopia and Somalia to work together” for the benefit of both.
A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company that has lost control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal said it is seeking US$2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “illegal” takeover of the ports. Panama Ports Co, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings (長江和記實業), on Friday said in a statement that it is demanding the sum under international arbitration proceedings that it had already started. The Panamanian government last week seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on each end of the Panama Canal, after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
RSS