Somaliland and Ethiopia signs "Historic" MoU on access to Red Sea and Establishment of Naval Base

[Che -Guevara]

Quote

There will be a follow up agreement, which will contain details of the production sharing agreement, as well as the timeline for the deal.

 

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ethiopia May Scrap Somaliland Recognition Amid Regional Pressure

Simon Marks and David Herbling, Bloomberg News

, Source: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia is considering scrapping a plan to recognize the breakaway state of Somaliland, amid international pressure to defuse regional tensions over the proposal, according to people familiar with the matter.

Landlocked Ethiopia signed an initial agreement with Somaliland in January that would make it the first nation to recognize the sovereignty of the semi-autonomous region of Somalia, in return for 50 years of access to the Gulf of Aden. The accord triggered an uproar in neighboring countries, with Somalia saying it would defend its territorial integrity and Egypt and other nations urging caution.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, held talks last week in Nairobi where the matter was discussed. Abiy expressed his willingness to step back from the deal’s most controversial elements in an effort to restore relations with Somalia, said the people who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. 

Ethiopian officials privately told foreign officials that the country may be willing to drop its recognition of Somaliland, according to five foreign officials who were briefed on Addis Ababa’s stance. Ruto also raised the matter in a meeting with Somalian President Hassan Sheikh, who was visiting Kenya at the same time as Abiy.

Ruto told Bloomberg in an interview in January that his administration was trying to “persuade Ethiopia” to consider other options beyond its demand for a port, though it’s unclear what those options are.

Ethiopia has yet to officially pull back from the deal with Somaliland, and Abiy remains keen on achieving his objective of attaining direct access to the coast, the people said.

Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after the eruption of a civil war. Since then, it’s been pushing for international recognition that would allow it to source foreign funding and aid. The deal with Ethiopia — long desperate for greater sea access — would take it a small step closer to achieving that aim.

Read More: Ethiopia Says Lack of Port Access Can Fuel Future Conflict

Neighboring countries and some of Ethiopia’s biggest donors have expressed concern that the deal — which Somalia has said is illegal and would represent an annexation of its territory — may spark conflict in an already volatile region. 

Molly Phee, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, told reporters on a call last month that Ethiopia should seek a deal providing it with sea access with the federal authorities in Mogadishu and not officials in Somaliland. The US and United Nations have also said the agreement may allow the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab to exploit the situation for its recruitment.

“The region can ill afford more conflict,” Phee said. 

Ethiopian, Kenyan and Somali government spokespeople didn’t respond to questions about the current status of the Somaliland agreement. The Somaliland government said in a statement on Tuesday that the memorandum of understanding it signed with Ethiopia in January “signifies a positive step towards regional stability and prosperity.”

--With assistance from Mohammed Omar Ahmed.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Ethiopia in the end got pressured to much now the deal is dead, well maybe for the better 

 

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

 According to senior   Somaliland journalist Ethiopia isnt going to back down

 this si what he said on twitter

 

 

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Ethiopia refuses to back down despite huge external pressure. -DP World on board -SL to share in the energy sector(power) instead of Ethio airlines -Slight increase in Ethio share in Berberaport with significant increase in Eth utilization -Recognition -Naval base at Bulahar

 

[Che -Guevara]

 

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Xunjuf calool xanuun iyo qaras ayaa ku dhaceyso markuu arko qoraalkaas.

[Che -Guevara]

12 minutes ago, Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar said:

Xunjuf calool xanuun iyo qaras ayaa ku dhaceyso markuu arko qoraalkaas.

Any reasonable person knew this was not going to work. It had no legal basis and the alternative was war which Abiy knows he can't win.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

35 minutes ago, Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar said:

Xunjuf calool xanuun iyo qaras ayaa ku dhaceyso markuu arko qoraalkaas.

 

 

anigu i am different i have yet to see the final draft of such agreement for it to be endorsed or not  the Mou  i cannot endorse anything i havent seen the details ba loo bahanyahay.. But i am also good if it doesnt go through , because  we are not sure if indeed recognition of Ethiopia will have an affect on the entire continent . so that would be difficult but we never know. But now it is all behind us now that the whole MOU for the better i guess

 

[Arafaat]

Even without recongnition, Somaliland might still resort giving coastal land to Ethiopia. Some might see it as an quick business opportunity, ‘Maahruuc yar faido laga helo’.

[Illyria]

3 hours ago, Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar said:

Xunjuf calool xanuun iyo qaras ayaa ku dhaceyso markuu arko qoraalkaas.

For that to matter, XX would have to have good moral standing to suffer from diarrhea, but it has been established he lacks in the department.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

12 minutes ago, Arafaat said:

Even without recongnition, Somaliland might still resort giving coastal land to Ethiopia. Some might see it as an quick business opportunity, ‘Maahruuc yar faido laga helo’.

i doubt it  with out recognition ina bixii cant sell it to the people he will lose his head , 

 besides there is no benefit for Somaliland  recognition is valued more then anything  more then shares money or what ever concession one wants to give .

Ethiopia once agains saves Somali unity  , by backing down from the MOU 

[Arafaat]

30 minutes ago, Xaaji Xunjuf said:

i doubt it  with out recognition ina bixii cant sell it to the people he will lose his head , 

 besides there is no benefit for Somaliland  recognition is valued more then anything  more then shares money or what ever concession one wants to give .

Ethiopia once agains saves Somali unity  , by backing down from the MOU 

From the perspective of politicians you would have been right, but from a businessman’s point of view, nothing is more important than a ‘mashruuc’. 

‘Somaliland oo sahamineysa goobtii ay Ethiopia saldhig ka dhigan lahayd’. 
 

 

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

doubt it  poliiticians who want a a mashruuc cant sell that  it would also be their last day in office had they done that 

Somalia is lucky Ethiopia didnt come through with the recognition other wise the deal would have gone through now it wont go through 

[Arafaat]

I hope your right. 
 

P.S. But having no trust whatsoever in the regime and it’s Ethiopian advisors, this well could be a deflection strategy of Ethiopia to make everyone think that they’re walking away from signing the MoU, while they then turn around and sign it in the coming time. See the above video with the Somaliland committee continuing its work in preparation of the deal. 

[Arafaat]

4 hours ago, Che -Guevara said:

Any reasonable person knew this was not going to work. It had no legal basis and the alternative was war which Abiy knows he can't win.

Even without any legality being there and ICJ striking down the agreement the second Somalia goes to the court, I fear that for the Somaliland regime this is outweigh by the the business prospectives of the deal and presenting a quick win for the electoral before the elections, irrelevant of the end result on its recognition.