Ethiopia's bid to engage Somalia President fails at AU Summit
The Ethiopia PM restated that Addis Ababa has no intention of causing harm to Somalia.
Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has expressed frustration after his attempts to engage Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud since the signing of the port agreement with Somaliland proved unsuccessful.
Speaking at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Abiy emphasised his efforts to meet his counterpart as a 'friend' and 'neighbour' to address the issue.
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Abiy mentioned that Addis Ababa attempted to reach out to Hassan Sheikh through the Djiboutian leader and IGAD chair, Ismail Guelleh, for a meeting in Djibouti but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Similarly, he said Ethiopia tried to do the same in Uganda through President Yoweri Museveni and President William Ruto during the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit hosted by Uganda in January, but this attempt also did not materialise.
"In Uganda, we asked Presidents Museveni, Ruto to arrange a meeting to exchange ideas with President Hassan Sheikh because we consider him a good friend and we believe we can solve our problems without bringing the issue to the AU table," said the Ethiopian PM who has been accused of trying to "annex" some parts of Somalia.
Abiy conveyed to the assembly attended by African political leaders and delegates that Addis Ababa remains committed to its role as a friendly neighbour, eager to listen to and address any concerns raised by Somalia in the spirit of goodwill.
"We have all the leaders in our region. President Guelleh is here and President Ruto too. There are other leaders who can help us sit and talk," Abiy said.
"No harm"
The Ethiopian leader restated that Addis Ababa has no intention of causing harm to Somalia.
Abiy noted "Ethiopia considers Somalia as a friendly country and its president as a good friend. We have zero intention to harm Somalia or create problems in the region."
Tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia escalated at the summit after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accused Ethiopia of attempting to annex part of Somalia's territory through the controversial sea access deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.
The Somali leader expressed his concerns, stating, "The agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland is nothing more than annexing part of Somalia to Ethiopia and changing the borders of Somalia. Somalia categorically objects to that."
The deal, signed on January 1, grants Ethiopia a 50-year lease on a naval base with access to Somaliland's Berbera port for commercial marine operations.
Somaliland granted the naval base lease in exchange for potential recognition as a sovereign state.
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