Ethiopian Airlines is set to obtain a new stakeholder after a Memorandum of Understanding for Partnership and Cooperation was signed by Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed and the president of Somaliland, Muse Bihe Abdi.
Although the East African nation is not officially recognised by the United Nations, the territory of Somaliland will now extend port access to Ethiopia, allowing its neighbour to ‘obtain a permanent and reliable naval base in the Gulf of Aden’ through a lease agreement. A statement from the Ethiopian Government Communication Service confirmed that Somaliland will ‘derive an equivalent share of the lease for Ethiopian Airlines’.
Somalia has operated independently since 1991 but has not gained recognition as a sovereign nation, with the Somali government insisting the territory remains part of its own country. A statement subsequently issued by the Somali government condemned the new partnership as a “blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” noting that it was “ready to defend, protect and preserve the sovereignty, dignity, territorial integrity, and social unity” of its country.
The Ethiopian Government Communication service added that it ‘s position was “strongly rooted in a desire not to engage in war with anyone one,” but rather, aimed to “ensure that the options pursued are mutually beneficial to all stakeholders”.