Turkey to Hold Separate Meetings with Somalia and Ethiopia Prior to Additional Mediation Efforts

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan shared that Türkiye is planning to hold individual discussions with Ethiopia and Somalia. The aim is to pave the way for new negotiations tackling the contentious deal where Ethiopia agreed to lease North Western State of Somalia’s coastline.

Türkiye, striving for peace in the region, has already facilitated two rounds of these crucial meetings between the East African neighbors. However, a third round, originally scheduled for Tuesday in Ankara, got derailed and didn’t happen.

Relations hit a snag earlier this year in January when Ethiopia decided to lease 20 kilometers (roughly 12 miles) of coastline from North Western State of Somalia, a region seeking independence. In response, Mogadishu, considering the deal illegal, expelled Ethiopia’s ambassador and warned of expelling thousands of Ethiopian troops aiding in their fight against Islamist insurgents.

Fidan, in his conversation with Anadolu Agency (AA), revealed that Türkiye remains actively engaged with both Somalia and Ethiopia at various levels, including ministerial and head-of-state interactions. He exudes optimism about reaching a resolution, noting that the parties had made progress in the Ankara discussions. “They’ve converged to a certain point,” he observed.

“Instead of having the same parties come together for direct negotiations—which they don’t really do, as they speak through us—we aim to establish one-on-one dialogues,” Fidan said, accentuating the need to align positions individually. “Once their stands are completely harmonized, we’ll convene them together,” he added. He acknowledged that valuable “lessons” were gleaned from the previous two talks.