Ethiopia Signs 'Historic' Pact to Use Somaliland's Red Sea Port

Facts

• Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the signing of a 'historic' agreement on Monday that will permit the usage of the Red Sea port of Berbera in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland — giving Ethiopia direct maritime transport access and expanding its access to seaports.¹
• As part of the Memorandum of Understanding, Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi said at the signing ceremony in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa that Somaliland intends to lease a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) strip along its coast to landlocked Ethiopia for the establishment of a base for marine forces.²
• Under the bilateral agreement, Addis Ababa would also formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state making Ethiopia the first country to acknowledge statehood for the breakaway region, it added.³
• The Ethiopian Prime Minister's Office did not comment directly on the recognition of Somalia as an independent republic, but noted that the agreement promotes 'mutual interests through cooperation on the basis of reciprocity.' It also emphasized the step's 'huge significance' for the Horn of Africa's regional integration.⁴
• Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre condemned the bilateral agreement as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity and recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations. He then announced that the East African country would defend its territory by 'all legal means possible.'⁵
• Having seceded from Somalia over 30 years ago, Somaliland is not officially recognized as an independent state by either the African Union or the United Nations. With more than 100M inhabitants, Ethiopia is the world's most populous landlocked country and lost its access to the Red Sea when Eritrea declared independence in the early 1990s.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²PBS NewsHour, ³Addis Standard, ⁴VOA, ⁵France 24 and ⁶BBC News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Horn Observer. The landmark agreement is a first step towards restoring Ethiopia's historic right of access to the Red Sea. It's also a step that not only advances regional integration but allows the Ethiopian government to continue its leadership in maintaining peace and stability in the region. It should also be noted that Somalia previously rejected a request from Ethiopia for talks on granting maritime access. Furthermore, it's Mogadishu that is deliberately undermining regional peace by supporting Egypt's hardline position on the Ethiopian Nile Dam dispute for geopolitical reasons.
• Narrative B, as provided by The Guardian. The agreement proves yet again the Ethiopian regime's blatant disregard for international law. The Memorandum is not worth the paper it is written on, as Somaliland is an integral part of Somali territory according to the Somali constitution. That the deal was signed only days after the breakthrough agreement between Mogadishu and Hargeisa is a deliberate provocation by the Abiy regime, which wants to profit from domestic Somali tensions. It's now up to the international community to put pressure on Addis Ababa to prevent a possible escalation into a regional conflict.

Predictions