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Somalia and Ethiopia on Wednesday agreed to work together to resolve their dispute over Somaliland. Turkey’s President Tayyip Recep Erdogan mediated the talks over the independently-run breakaway region of Somalia.
The new agreement comes even as sources close to US President-elect Donald Trump told Semafor Africa his administration is likely to recognize Somaliland’s independence.
The talks between Somalia and Ethiopia followed a controversial deal unveiled in January that would have given Ethiopia access to a port in Somaliland in exchange for its recognition of the region’s sovereignty. In response, Somalia threatened to kick out Ethiopian troops fighting jihadist groups in the country.
Under Wednesday’s agreement, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said they would establish commercial arrangements to guarantee landlocked Ethiopia “reliable, secure and sustainable access to and from the sea.”
