Landlocked Ethiopia gains access to Red Sea after deal with 'unrecognized' country

Grain is unloaded from a ship and packed at the port of Berbera in Somaliland. Photo: ED RAM/AFP

Landlocked Ethiopia is ready to secure access to the sea as part of a «historic» agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Under the agreement, Addis Ababa leases 12 , a 4-mile stretch of coastline of the self-proclaimed republic for 50 years in exchange for formal recognition of it as an independent state.

Somaliland, which split from Somalia three decades ago, is not recognized by regional powers or the United Nations.

Somalia still considers it independent. as part of its territory and declared the deal null and void, warning that it jeopardized the stability of the region.

The exact details of Monday's agreement were not made public, but Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said it would «pave path towards realizing Ethiopia's ambition to secure access to the sea.»

Discussions are ongoing Until the memorandum of understanding, which is not legally binding, the focus was on the Berbera port in Somaliland. Situated on the shores of the Red Sea, it is the largest facility of its type in the territory.

Ethiopia currently depends on neighboring Djibouti for most of its maritime trade, with more than 95 percent of its imports and exports passing through the country.

Somaliland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the agreement «historic» and said it would provide Ethiopia with «sea access for its naval forces.» In response, the Republic of Somaliland is officially recognized, noting this is like an important diplomatic milestone for our country,” he added.

Ali Hassan Mohamed, Somaliland’s information minister, called the deal a “game changer.” «.

Abiy Ahmed (left), Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and Muse Bihi Abdi, President of Somaliland, at the signing of a memorandum of understanding. : TIKSA NEGERI/REUTERS

Somaliland separated from Somalia in 1991 and has been self-governing ever since.

It includes the former British colony of British Somaliland, which merged with the UN trust territory of Somaliland in 1960. originally under Italian rule, and formed Somalia.

The Somali government, which continues to claim Somaliland as its own, recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia to discuss the port agreement after holding an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.

Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, Somalia's natural resources minister, said that the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of his country are “uncompromising.”Discussions of the agreement focused on the port of Berbera in Somaliland. Photo: ED RAM/AFP

Ethiopia's 120 million population makes it the world's most populous landlocked country.

It has not had access to the sea since the 1990s, when rebels -separatists captured Eritrea — then the country's northernmost region — and declared independence.

Addis Ababa signed an agreement with Somaliland in 2018 that would have given it a 19 percent stake in the port of Berbera. But the agreement collapsed in 2022 when “Ethiopia failed to meet the conditions required to acquire the share before the deadline,” Somaliland said at the time.

Mr Abiy’s office said the latest agreement would mark “ conclusion of an agreement». a new chapter of cooperation» and «regional integration» in the Horn of Africa.

Redwan Hussein, an adviser to the Ethiopian leader, described the deal as «a step forward in the right direction for this and future generations.»

Mr Abiy has previously called access to the sea a vital issue for his country.