Somalia

Somalia and Ethiopia renew defence agreement

Somalia's Defence Minister, Abdikadir Mohamed Nur, and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abraham Belay during the signing of the peace agreement.

By Foreign Reporter | Friday, December 8, 2023

Yesterday, Somalia and Ethiopia formally inked a bilateral defence pact in Addis Ababa. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Somalia's Defence Minister, Abdikadir Mohamed Nur, and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abraham Belay.

Yesterday, Somalia and Ethiopia formally inked a bilateral defence pact in Addis Ababa. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Somalia's Defence Minister, Abdikadir Mohamed Nur, and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abraham Belay.

The Somali Defence Minister stated that this accord, a renewal of a previous agreement from February 2014, aims to "bolster cooperation... and facilitate closer collaboration in strengthening peace and security for the two countries and the larger region."

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Nairobi-based security analyst Dr. Rashid Abdi, in his X account, indicated that the agreement is "likely to involve training and facilitate ENDF combat deployments in Somalia." Somali security sources suggest the MoU will also include intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, maritime security, and humanitarian assistance.

A key aspect of this cooperation agreement involves the establishment of Joint Defence Committees to promote, coordinate, and facilitate the implementation of the MoU.