Ethiopia and Somaliland: Security in Return for Sea Access

Ethiopia’s signing on Monday of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to use the main port of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has sparked a new dispute with its eastern neighbor.

Somalia declared on Tuesday its rejection of the deal and summoned its ambassador from Addis Ababa for consultations.

Landlocked Ethiopia has for years sought access to sea channels to meet its economic ambitions. Currently, it relies on neighboring Djibouti’s port for 95 percent of its marine trade.

Ethiopia has in the past sought to complete agreements with Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya over the use of their seaports. All failed for various reasons, such as war and coups in Sudan.

Mutual interests

The new MoU grants Ethiopia 20-km access to the Red Sea, specifically in the Berbera port, for a 50-year period.

In return, Ethiopia will recognize Somaliland as a republic, announced Muse Bihi Abdi leader of Somaliland, which has not been internationally recognized since it broke away from Somalia in 1991.

Under the MoU, at least 30 percent of Ethiopia’s trade transactions with Djibouti will now be process at Berbera port.

National Security Affairs Advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Redwan Hussein said the MoU will pave the way for his country to carry out marine trade in the region.

It will also grant it access to a leased military base on the Red Sea as part of the agreement, he added.

In other words, Somaliland will achieve security in a turbulent region in return for selling some of its territories to Addis Ababa.

The MoU also stipulates that Somaliland will acquire a stake in the Ethiopian Airlines national carrier.

Expert in Horn of Africa affairs Abdushekur Abdulsamad told Asharq Al-Awsat that the MoU will help Somaliland in modernizing its infrastructure, paving roads and laying railways. It will also benefit from electricity generated by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

It could gain military support from Ethiopia once the MoU is expanded further, he added.

The agreement “shall pave the way to realize the aspiration of Ethiopia to secure access to the sea and diversify its access to seaport,” PM Abiy’s office posted on X.

“It also strengthens their security, economic and political partnership,” it said.

In a televised speech last October, Abiy declared that his country needed to pursue its right to sea access, raising concerns in the region.

He said Ethiopia “is a nation whose existence was tied to the Red Sea” and that it needed access to a port.

Moreover, he said that “peace” in the region hinged on the “balanced” relations between Ethiopia and its neighbors overlooking the Red Sea, specifically naming Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia.

Addressing the concerns raised by his statements, he vowed that he will “never pursue his interests through war.”

Partial or full stake?

Even though the MoU did not specify Ethiopia’s exact stake in Berbera port, Abdulsamad said it could be a full stake and the facility could come under Ethiopia’s complete control.

Ethiopian authorities said they will release an official statement with the details of the MoU soon.

In 2018, Ethiopia acquired a 19 percent stake in the Berbera port, according to Dubai-based DP World, which manages the port's operations. The company itself holds a 51 percent stake, while Somaliland has the remaining 30 percent.

Ethiopia was cut off from the coast after Eritrea seceded from the country and declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade war.

Addis Ababa had maintained access to a port in Eritrea until the two countries went to war in 1998-2000, and since then Ethiopia funnels most of its trade through Djibouti.

Somaliland has not gained widespread international recognition, despite declaring autonomy from Somalia in 1991.

Ethiopia, under its former President Meles Zenawi, was the first country to recognize Somaliland’s independence.

It received informal recognition from other countries that set up diplomatic missions there or carried out trade operations.

A European Union delegation had monitored the last elections that were held in Somaliland, congratulating its people, government, electoral commission and political parties for successfully organizing them.

Kenyan and Somaliland officials have exchanged visits over the years. People of Somaliland travel through passports issued in Somaliland.

Somalia stresses that Somaliland is part of its territories. Its state news agency SONNA reported that following mediation from Djibouti, it agreed with Somaliland to resume talks to resolve their disputes.

Strongly worded Somali protest

Somalia summoned its ambassador in Ethiopia in protest against the MoU.

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre convened an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the MoU, which it described as a “blatant assault on the independence, sovereignty and unity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.” It deemed the agreement null and void.

Barre added that the government was determined to protect Somalia’s sovereignty. “No one can violate a part of Somalia’s territory, whether by sea or air,” he stated.

The government also said it was appealing to the United Nations, African Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League, European Union and regional East African grouping IGAD among others “to stand with the right for Somalia to defend its sovereignty and force Ethiopia to adhere to international laws”.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the MoU, accusing Ethiopia of violating Somalia’s national sovereignty and regional security.

“No one can and no one will be allowed to extract an inch of Somali soil. Somalia belongs to the Somali people,” he declared in a post on the X platform.

The two Horn of Africa neighbors have a history of stormy relations and territorial feuds, fighting two wars in the late 20th century.

Abdulsamad said, however, that the tensions are now “water under the bridge.” Economic interests and policies of openness are now allowing greater rapprochement between these countries.

Eritrea

Eritrean authorities have so far not commented on the MoU, but observers believe that it will not sit well with Asmara, which will not comment on it.

Abdulsamad said Eritrea may have wasted opportunities to strike a lucrative agreement with Ethiopia to allow it access to the Assab port.

Ethiopia will not forget past agreements with Eritrea and Sudan, and it may return to them in the future, because it is working on diversifying its sources of trade operations given its massive population of 120 million people, he explained.

For Rida Abu Hadayed, summer adds a new layer of misery to a daily struggle to survive in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

With temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), daybreak begins with the cries of Hadayed’s seven children sweltering inside the displaced family’s cramped nylon tent. Outside, the humidity is unbearable.

The only way the 32-year-old mother can offer her children relief is by fanning them with a tray or bits of paper — whatever she can find. If she has water, she pours it over them, but that is an increasingly scarce resource, The Associated Press said.

“There is no electricity. There is nothing,” she said, her face beaded with sweat. “They cannot sleep. They keep crying all day until the sun sets.”

The heat in Gaza has intensified hardships for its 2 million residents. Reduced water availability, crippled sanitation networks, and shrinking living spaces threaten to cause illnesses to cascade through communities, aid groups have long warned.

The scorching summer coincides with a lack of clean water for the majority of Gaza’s population, most of whom are displaced in tented communities. Many Palestinians in the enclave must walk long distances to fetch water and ration each drop, limiting their ability to wash and keep cool.

“We are only at the beginning of summer,“ Hadayed’s husband, Yousef, said. “And our situation is dire.”

Israel had blocked food, fuel, medicine and all other supplies from entering Gaza for nearly three months. It began allowing limited aid in May, but fuel needed to pump water from wells or operate desalination plants is still not getting into the territory.

With fuel supplies short, only 40% of drinking water production facilities are functioning in the Gaza Strip, according to a recent report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. All face imminent collapse. Up to 93% of households face water shortages, the June report said.

The Hadayeds were displaced after evacuation orders forced them to leave eastern Khan Younis.

“Our lives in the tent are miserable. We spend our days pouring water over their heads and their skin,” Yousef Hadayed said. “Water itself is scarce. It is very difficult to get that water.”

UNICEF’s spokesperson recently said that if fuel supplies are not allowed to enter the enclave, children will die of thirst.

“Me and my children spend our days sweating,” said Reham Abu Hadayed, a 30-year-old relative of Rida Abu Hadayed who was also displaced from eastern Khan Younis. She worries about the health of her four children.

“I don’t have enough money to buy them medicine,” she said.

For Mohammed al-Awini, 23, the heat is not the worst part. It's the flies and mosquitoes that bombard his tent, especially at night.

Without adequate sewage networks, garbage piles up on streets, attracting insects and illness. The stench of decomposing trash wafts in the air.

“We are awake all night, dying from mosquito bites,” he said. “We are the most tired people in the world.”

Ethiopia and Somaliland: Security in Return for Sea Access