Mereja.Forum

https://somaliguardian.com/news/somalia ... -ethiopia/




HARGEISA (Somaliguardian) – Since Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, popularly known as Irro—a seasoned diplomat and former speaker of Somaliland’s parliament—was declared the winner of the break-away region’s November 13 election, speculation has mounted over whether he will annul the controversial sea access agreement signed by outgoing President Muse Bihi Abdi with Ethiopia in January.

According to officials from the current Somaliland government, the agreement, which is merely a memorandum of understanding rather than a formal deal, would require the breakaway northern Somali region to lease a tract of land along the Red Sea to Ethiopia in exchange for Addis Ababa’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent country.

To me, not only will he entertain the fake MoU, but also, he'll adopt it and dance to it.

Because both this mindless administration and Ethiopia are using this MoU as their golden bargaining chip to persuade Mogadishu to negotiate with them on their separate interests, which is obviously an exercise in flutily.

It remains uncertain whether Irro will work to mend ties with Djibouti—whose economic interests were undermined by the sea access deal Bihi signed with Ethiopia, which Djibouti viewed as a threat to its port revenues.

He's in the midst of reconnecting with Djibouti, as he sent a delegation to Djibouti last week, to mend strained ties, and thus the relations between Djibouti and Somaliland appear to be thawing. This is in fact a very bad news for Ethiopia.


The Somaliland delegation, led by Second Deputy Speaker Ali Hamud Jibril, poses for a photo with Djibouti officials following a meeting aimed at strengthening ties.