Somalia says it has turned down a request by Ethiopia to take part in joint naval exercises amid an unresolved dispute over a controversial port deal with the enclave of Somaliland.
The Horn of Africa nation is still smarting from Somaliland’s January 2024 MoU with Ethiopia allowing the landlocked country access to its port in Hargeisa in exchange for a recognition of its internationally unaccepted status as a de facto independent country.
Somaliland has its own currency and other trappings of an independent state and has been campaigning for recognition internationally.
Despite being fragmented thanks to more than 30 years of political and clan conflicts, Somalia still regards Somaliland as its sovereign territory and vehemently opposes Ethiopian attempts to gain access to a port located on the enclave.
Relations between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa had soured last year following the Ethiopia-Somaliland deal.
Against this backdrop the Somali government has said it will not accept Ethiopia taking part in a multinational maritime exercise, and renewed accusations of Ethiopian violations of its territorial integrity.
The issue of landlocked Ethiopia joining the naval drill was tabled at the latest foreign ministers’ meeting of the East African Community in Addis Ababa.
Officially stating Somalia’s position over the issue, defence minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, said the Ethiopian request will not be granted given that it may represent an extension of its maritime ambition.
“Our sovereignty over our sea, land, and air is non-negotiable and Ethiopia’s request is both unlawful and unacceptable” he said.
During a meeting of regional stakeholders in Mogadishu, Ethiopia had also requested to deploy a naval squadron to form part of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, which was quickly rebuffed by the Somali authorities.
The controversial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ethiopia and Somaliland would have guaranteed the former access to 20 kilometres of the enclave’s coastline in exchange for a recognition of Somaliland independence.
Ethiopia planned on building a naval base on the Somaliland port, which Mogadishu warned would be an affront to its sovereignty should Addis Ababa press ahead with its ambition without expressed permission from Somalia.
Defence minister Fiqi contended that as far as his country is concerned there has never been a legal precedent backing Ethiopia’s ambition on Somalia’s territorial waters, which would be in clear violation of international maritime conventions.
Up to the time of publishing, Ethiopia has not reacted officially to Mogadishu’s rejection of its requests.
WN/as/APA