Ethiopia has reportedly rejected a new offer of port use by Somalia. The offer was made at ongoing talks between the countries in Ankara, Turkey.
The delegations from Ethiopia and Turkey, led by foreign ministers, are meeting in Turkey to resolve the dispute over port access. Ethiopia, in January this year, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland. The MoU, if implemented, would enable landlocked Ethiopia to establish a naval base in Somaliland and gain access to the sea on lease.
In return, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country. Somaliland has been operating as an independent entity but is struggling to get international recognition.
Somalia termed the MoU a violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty. It cut off diplomatic ties with Ethiopia and refused to enter into any talks with Ethiopia until Ethiopia withdraws from MoU.
But on the weekend, Somalia agreed to talk to Ethiopia. The two countries, mediated by Turkey, are holding talks in Ankara. The Somali delegation led by Foreign Minister Ahmed Fiqi, reportedly, offered Hobyo port to Ethiopia.
Hobyo Port, one of the key pirate ports in Somalia, is situated in the Galmudug regional state of Somalia. Situated on the Indian Ocean, it is located around 200 km away from the Ethiopian border. In 2019, Qatar showed interest in constructing this port and Obbia airport in the area. But progress could not be made.
In 2020, Oriental Terminal, a consortium of Turkish, Somali, and British companies, showed interest in building this port, but again, no progress happened. Earlier this year, engineers from Djibouti also visited the port. Obbia Airport in this area is basically an airstrip with only one runway.
The Ethiopian delegation reportedly rejected this offer from Hobyo Port and is more interested in using Berbera Port, which is a fully operational port, developed by the UAE’s DP World. Berbera has an airport too, and the road infrastructure from Berbera to the Ethiopian border is in good condition.
The two delegations are still in Ankara. Final outcome of the talks has not been announced so far.
