Today in Ankara, there will be a second round of discussions between Ethiopia and Somalia with the goal of resolving differences over a port agreement that Ethiopia signed with Somaliland earlier this year.
Diplomatic sources told Anadolu Agency that the foreign ministers of the two nations “will attempt to reach a compromise by taking into account the needs and concerns of their respective countries.”
The conference, which was first slated for September, was declared last week in the wake of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to Addis Ababa and his subsequent discussions with Somali government representatives.
Prior to the meeting, on August 10, 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had separate phone conversations with Presidents Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia and Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia.
“PM Abiy expressed appreciation for President Erdogan’s support in facilitating a resolution to the misunderstanding between Ethiopia and Somalia,” the Office of the Ethiopian Prime Minister said in a statement. “He underlined the significance of giving Ethiopia, a country of 120 million people, access to the sea in a mutually agreeable manner,” the statement continued.
The conversation between Erdogan and Abiy was also discussed by Erdogan’s staff. “Steps that Ethiopia would take to eliminate Somalia’s concerns regarding its unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity will facilitate the process,” said President Erdogan.
President Erdogan and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia had a separate conversation. “President Erdoğan expressed his expectations for tangible results in the second round of negotiations to be held in Türkiye for the establishment of reconciliation between the two countries,” the Turkish Presidency said in a statement.
The negotiations today come after a previous meeting on July 1, 2024, which was reported in a joint statement as including “candid and forward-looking exchanges concerning their differences, with Türkiye acting as a mediator” but ended without a breakthrough.
The Somali government insisted that Ethiopia revoke the Memorandum of Understanding and stated in a separate statement that the discussions were not in-person because Somalia was committed to preserving its national unity and sovereignty. This statement was released after the first round of talks concluded.
After a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on January 1, 2024, tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia have been severe. Ethiopia will lease a 20-kilometer naval facility from Somaliland for 50 years in exchange for diplomatic recognition, according to the terms of the agreement.