Ethiopia’s government is defending a maritime access deal signed with the self-declared republic of Somaliland, a day after Somalia declared the deal “null and void.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, landlocked Ethiopia said it has a “longstanding cooperation agreement” with Somaliland, and that “consultations on mutual benefits have been going on for months.”
“No party or country will be affected by this MOU [Memorandum of Understanding],” the statement read. “There is no broken trust … [nor] any laws that have been transgressed.”
Under the deal signed on Monday by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, Somaliland will grant naval and commercial sea access on lease to Ethiopia for 50 years.
Somaliland also said that Ethiopia will officially recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent country once the agreement is officially signed. Ethiopia did not explicitly confirm or deny that part of the agreement.
Read More: https://www.voanews.com/a/as-somalis-protest-ethiopia-defends-sea-access-deal-with-somaliland/7425480.html
