Maritime Access and Sovereignty: A Legal Analysis of the Ankara Declaration Between Ethiopia and Somalia

[Deeq A.]

The Ankara Declaration, signed on December 12, 2024, by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud under the mediation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marks a significant diplomatic milestone in addressing geopolitical tensions in the Horn of Africa. Emerging from months of heightened regional instability, the agreement seeks to resolve a longstanding maritime access dispute that threatened to destabilize bilateral relations between Somalia and Ethiopia and undermine regional security. This development represents a major diplomatic breakthrough following the two failed rounds of discussion since July 2024. The crisis that necessitated the agreement began in January 2024, when Ethiopia entered a controversial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland, a self-declared breakaway region of Somalia.

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