Turkey says Somalia, Ethiopia to resume talks on port deal
Al Jazeera
Ethiopia agreed to lease 20km (12 miles) of coastline from Somaliland in exchange for recognition of its independence.
The Somali and Ethiopian foreign ministers will meet in Ankara next week to discuss disagreements over a port deal Ethiopia signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland this year, Turkey’s foreign minister says.
“Tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia would come to an end with Ethiopia’s access to the seas through Somalia as long as Ethiopia’s recognition of Somalia’s territorial integrity and political sovereignty is secured,” Hakan Fidan said at a news conference in Istanbul on Friday.
Turkey is mediating talks between the East African neighbours, whose ties were strained in January when Ethiopia agreed to lease 20km (12 miles) of coastline from Somaliland in exchange for recognition of its independence. Somalia says Somaliland is part of its territory.
The agreement grants Ethiopia a 50-year lease on a naval base with access to Somaliland’s Berbera port. It was signed on January 1 in Addis Ababa by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi
In April, Somalia announced the expulsion of Ethiopia’s ambassador from the country. It also shut down Ethiopia’s consulates in Hargeisa, the largest city and capital of Somaliland, and Garowe, the capital city of the semiautonomous region of Puntland.
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