Somaliland says Ethio-Somalia Port agreement is not pertinent

[Deeq A.]

Somaliland says that the recent joint agreement aimed at developing ports which Ethiopia and Somalia leaders has nothing to do with Somaliland.

This was disclosed by Somaliland foreign affairs and international cooperation minister, Dr. Sa’ad Ali Shire in an interview with Somali BBC services.

The leaders of Ethiopia and Somalia stressed that both sides must respect the sovereignty and unity of both countries and SL FM said that it does not concern on somaliland as they were talking about not violating their borders.

The FM of Somaliland added that administering Somaliland ports is not a business for Farmajo as he has no control over them.

Once asked if Somaliland asked Ethiopia to provide details of the agreement, Mr. Sa’ad said that there is no point of urgency but we will wait and see.

Somaliland authority has taken a hard stance on the recent joint agreement reached by Ethiopia and Somalia to developed four key ports in Somalia.

It is not clear if Ethiopia has revoked its treaty with Somaliland which acquired shares in the development of Berbera port which Ethiopia, a landlocked country signed the deal with Dubai Ports World.

Somalland is self declared state which broke away from Somalia in 1991 but the int’l community turned a blind eye to grant a recognition as an independent state.