Addis and Mogadishu Kiss and Make Up
Ethiopia and Somalia have agreed to end a bitter dispute over Addis Ababa’s plans to build a port in the Republic of Somaliland after talks in Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the “historic deal” which he said would ultimately ensure landlocked Ethiopia gains access to the sea. At a news conference, he shook hands with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohammed, both of whom agreed to respect each other’s “sovereignty.” The two neighbors have been at loggerheads since Ethiopia signed a maritime deal with Somaliland – which Somalia considers part of its territory – in January.
