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The issue cropped up when Ethiopia in January this year signed a deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland to lease a portion of its coastland in return for possible recognition of the region, which has claimed independence from Somalia since 1991
Kenya announced a proposal for a regional maritime treaty to defuse tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia. The issue cropped up when Ethiopia in January this year signed a deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland to lease a portion of its coastland in return for possible recognition of the region, which has claimed independence from Somalia since 1991.
The deal angered Somalia, fuelling concerns of further destabilization in the Horn of Africa. In early April, tensions escalated when Somalia ordered Ethiopia’s ambassador to leave the country, as well as the closure of Ethiopia’s consulates in the region of Somaliland and the semi autonomous region of Puntland.
The regional treaty proposed by Kenya in consultation with Djibouti and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) would govern how landlocked states in the region can access ports on commercial terms, Kenya’s principal secretary for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing’oei, said.
Somalia and Ethiopia are considering the proposal, according to sources. He said that the treaty would be a way to ensure regional stability. The two countries’ leaders have been asked to meet to discuss the proposal.
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It came as Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met recently with his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto in Nairobi as part of efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the dispute.
