Turkey is set to host talks this week between Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in an effort to resolve a year-long dispute over Ethiopia’s desire for port access to the Horn of Africa, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Middle East Eye.
Somali media have also reported that President Mohamud is expected to hold direct talks with Prime Minister Ahmed during the visit. The Turkish foreign ministry has declined to comment. The Ethiopian embassy in Ankara said it cannot comment.
Earlier this year, Addis Ababa signed a naval agreement with the breakaway state of Somaliland, a move that Mogadishu viewed as an attempt to recognise Somaliland’s self-declared independence, thereby undermining Somali sovereignty.
In response to the growing tensions, Ankara, which has developed a strong security and political partnership with Somalia, signed a comprehensive naval agreement with Mogadishu.
The agreement reportedly includes plans to establish a Somali navy and protect Somali territorial waters from external threats. The deal also paved the way for an energy partnership, which saw the arrival of Turkish energy drilling ships along the Somali coastline earlier this year.
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Relations between Ethiopia and Somalia have remained strained, with Somali officials threatening Addis Ababa with war if the naval deal with Somaliland goes ahead.
Turkey has already hosted two rounds of talks between the two countries at the foreign ministerial level earlier this year.
Turkish officials announced in August that progress had been made in the negotiations. Ankara also has close security relations with Addis Ababa since it sold it a number of drones which emboldened the government during a civil war against the Tigray forces.
Observers in Ankara believe that the arrival of Mohamud and Ahmed for this week’s talks could signal positive developments.
Sources previously told MEE in August that Somalia might offer Ethiopia access to a port near its border, in exchange for Ethiopia withdrawing from the naval agreement it signed with Somaliland.
The situation was further complicated by Somaliland’s recent presidential elections, which shifted the political dynamics. The new president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, is reportedly less amenable to Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed than his predecessor.
Many in Ankara anticipate that, if the talks progress positively, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could play a crucial role in bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion.
