MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Ethiopia and Somalia commenced high-level technical discussions in Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday to advance the implementation of an settlement reached final yr, which resolved a dispute between the 2 nations.
The talks, hosted by Turkish Overseas Minister Hakan Fidan, are being led by Somali State Minister for Overseas Affairs Ali Mohamed Omar and Ethiopian Overseas Minister Gedion Timothewos.
The negotiations are anticipated to deal with Ethiopia’s ambition to safe entry to the ocean by Somalia’s federal authorities in Mogadishu. This challenge has been a degree of rivalry since early final yr, when Somalia vehemently opposed a maritime entry deal Ethiopia signed with Somaliland, a breakaway area which Mogadishu considers a part of its territory.
Beneath the Ankara settlement, Somalia has expressed willingness to grant Ethiopia industrial sea entry, although the specifics of the association stay underneath dialogue.
It’s unclear how Ethiopia will deal with its earlier memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, which had sparked diplomatic tensions.
Along with maritime entry, the delegations are set to debate Ethiopia’s function within the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which started operations in January.
Ethiopia presently has over 10,000 troops deployed in Somalia, primarily combating the militant group Al-Shabaab.
Beforehand, Somalia had excluded Ethiopia from its checklist of troop-contributing nations because of the dispute. Nevertheless, following the Ankara settlement, Mogadishu indicated it might discover avenues to combine Ethiopian peacekeepers into the mission, regardless of current quotas being stuffed.
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