Somalia’s President Welcomes Ethiopia’s Access to Sea, Seeking His Share

Mogadishu, (IDNE, Editorial) — Ethiopia is welcome to have access to Somalia’s sea, says President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

The President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on Monday said the country is not against other countries having access to its sea.

He said Somalia has not refused Ethiopia access to the sea.

“The question is how?” he asked during a speech about “Strengthening Regional Cooperation in the East African Community” in Mogadishu.

“If Ethiopia wants access to Somalia’s sea, we welcome it, but we want Ethiopia to have access the same way that Uganda has access to Kenya’s sea, the same way that Burundi and Rwanda have access to Tanzania’s sea, and the same way Ethiopia has access to Djibouti’s sea,” he said.

“We are not accepting anything beyond that,” he added.

“Forget about deploying naval forces in Somalia and having a naval base in Somalia.”

Ethiopia signed an MOU with Somaliland on January 1, which leases 20km of sea in return for recognition, according to Somaliland officials. Somalia says the MOU infringes on its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Both Ethiopia and Somaliland defended the MOU as a “win-win” deal.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud asked, “What does Ethiopia say? Let me go through it.”

“Ethiopia does not have any other cause or value as it is evident from his words. It is me who goes through and signs with me.”

From there, it is clear that Somaliland’s argument that Hassan’s interest is true. He has us but not advantages.

“Ethiopia has not refused to reach the shores of Somalia, but we want to see how it reaches,” said Hassan.

According to sources, Muse Bihi is in Addis, and the understanding is being prepared to be converted into an official agreement.

Ethiopia will clearly recognize Somaliland, whose borders are within 1960.

In the last week, Hassan has been in contact with several governments, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but failed to find a government that would suspend Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland.

On the other hand, Ethiopia has signed an official agreement with President of Southwest State Laftagareen, which is located less than 20 km from Mogadishu, whose territorial border reaches the outskirts of Mogadishu.

In conclusion, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was never against the Ethiopia and Somaliland MOU; he just wants his cut of the deal. He is the man who digs up graves for money, so he clearly doesn’t care about Somalia’s territorial integrity, land, or sea.

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