Quint Summit Urges “Dialogue” Between Somalia and Ethiopia Over An Illegal Maritime Memorandum of Understanding

[Deeq A.]

Ali Omar, (third, from left) the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Hussein Sheikh, (fourth, from left) the National Security Adviser, represented Somalia at the Quint summit.

Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — The sixth Quint summit was held in London on April 30, 2024. Representatives from the State of Qatar, the Republic of Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America called for de-escalation of tensions in the Horn of Africa, referring to the maritime Memorandum of Understanding that Ethiopia signed with the breakaway administration of Somaliland in January 2024.

This call reflects the diplomatic hurdles that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud unwittingly created in December 2023 when the Federal Government of Somalia signed a defence pact and intelligence-sharing agreement with Ethiopia and renewed previous agreements with the Somaliland administration. Ali Omar, the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Hussein Sheikh, the National Security Adviser, represented Somalia at the Quint summit.

In 2014, President Hassan Sheikh abrogated the 2008 agreement between the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, which facilitated the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia. The new bilateral agreement signed between the Federal Government of Somalia and Ethiopia in 2014 allowed for the deployment of Ethiopian troops to Somalia.

The maritime MoU that strained relations between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa differs from the 2009 MoU between Somalia and Kenya, on which the International Court of Justice adjudicated in 2021. Ethiopia stands accused of violating the territorial integrity of Somalia by signing a maritime MoU with an administration that claims to have seceded from Somalia. Opponents have blamed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for seeking closer ties with Ethiopia for personal reasons at the expense of  the national interest of Somalia.

© Puntland Post, 2024

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