Jigjiga (PP Information Desk) — The President of Somali area in Ethiopia, Mustafa Mohammad Omer, claimed that the maritime Memorandum of Understanding that Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, signed in January 2024 with the President of the Somaliland Administration, Muse Bihi, would allow Ethiopia to accumulate a industrial seaport. “120 million individuals reside in Ethiopia. Since we [Ethiopia] spend some huge cash on items we import by ports in different nations, the Memorandum of Understanding will profit Ethiopia and the entity we signed with,” mentioned Omer.
His assertion despatched shock waves in Hargeisa, the place political elites have accused President Bihi of encouraging Ethiopia to accumulate a industrial seaport in elements of Northern Somalia managed by the Somaliland Administration, a transfer that can drastically cut back Ethiopia’s dependency on Djibouti Ports, and can completely upend Berbera as an vital seaport within the Horn of Africa.
“We within the Somali area of Ethiopia will profit vastly from the MoU. Somalis in Ethiopia endure resulting from lack of a seaport, and as Abiy Ahmed mentioned, the maritime MoU is just not an assault on one other nation’s sovereignty. The Somali area of Ethiopia had skilled wars prior to now, and we should keep away from being dragged right into a battle over the MoU,” mentioned Omer, who appears adamant about supporting the Ethiopian authorities to violate the sovereignty of Somalia. “Each Ethiopia and the opposite entity we signed the cope with will reap advantages as soon as a seaport is constructed on the leased land,” Omer mentioned with out mentioning the identify of the Somaliland Administration. In January 2024 Muse Bihi claimed that the leased coastal territory can be used as a naval base for Ethiopia. The Federal Authorities of Somalia rejected the maritime MoU which is a violation of the territorial and political unity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
© Puntland Submit, 2024
