Somalia throw-outs port deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland

The Somali government on Tuesday rejected a pact signed between Ethiopia and its breakaway region of Somaliland, allowing Addis Ababa to use a major port with access to the Red Sea in return for recognition as an independent state

Authorities in Mogadishu said the agreement had no legal force.

The Somali government has summoned its ambassador to Ethiopia for talks over the agreement signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi on Monday.

Until now, Somalia views the breakaway Somaliland as part of its territory.

The pact would provide landlocked Ethiopia, which depends primarily on neighbouring Djibouti for its marine trade, a 50-year lease for its navy and commercial uses around the port of Berbera, which is located on the Gulf of Aden with access to the Red Sea, covering 20 kilometres.

In return, Somaliland’s leader declared that Ethiopia would be the first country to acknowledge Somaliland as an independent nation.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in parliament that “no one has the power give away a piece of Somalia” after an emergency cabinet meeting that said the deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland was “an open interference with Somalia’s sovereignty, freedom and unity” and “null and void”.

Mohamud also said: “Somaliland, you are the northern regions of Somalia and Ethiopia has no recognition for you. If Ethiopia claimed it gave you recognition, then it is not a recognition that exists.”

Notwithstanding its 1991 declaration of independence from Somalia, Somaliland has not attained significant international recognition.

Talks were recently opened between Somalia and Somaliland to restart negotiations to resolve their disputes, after mediation efforts championed by Djibouti.