Abiy Ahmed Staunchly Backs Ethiopia-North Western of Somalia Pact Despite Somali Government Outcry

Turkey’s recent bid to broker peace between the two East African nations has sparked a whirlwind of commentaries.

“Nothing complicated here; we don’t have any beef with the Somali government,” Abiy mentioned, noting Somalia’s tendency to “go around and hurl accusations at us.” He added, “My take is, don’t flush money down the drain; traveling around countries costs a pretty penny. It’s pointless to accuse us abroad when you can just pull up to Addis Ababa. We’re game for a chat,” suggesting that funds would be better channeled into developmental projects in Somalia.

“Nothing complicated here; we don’t have any beef with the Somali government,” Abiy repeated.

“But Ethiopia’s grappling with a dilemma: being landlocked with an economy of this scale is no cakewalk. This is a pivotal national interest question.” Ethiopia aims to “sort this out without sparking conflicts; without trading insults or squandering money globe-trotting. If there’s a mutual benefits plan on the table, the Ethiopian government is always down to collaborate. It’s not a disgrace for Ethiopia to push for its interest if other nations can do the same,” he articulated.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud recently answered sharply to Ethiopia’s maneuvers, underscoring Somalia’s autonomy and territorial wholeness. “Somalia won’t accept any pact infringing on our sovereignty,” he asserted. Speaking about the memorandum of understanding, he declared, “This MoU is void and intolerable. Any agreement undermining Somalia’s territorial integrity won’t be acknowledged.”

President Mohamud slammed Ethiopia’s strategy, saying, “Rather than supporting our borders, Ethiopia has opted for deals with secessionist areas. This affronts Somalia’s unity and sovereignty.” Although hopeful for a peaceful solution, he stood firm on Somalia’s stance, stating, “We are resolute in safeguarding our nation’s sovereignty. We’re open to dialogue, yet our position on the North Western of Somalia matter is set in stone.”

To ease these frictions, Turkey has set the stage for preliminary talks between Ethiopia and Somalia, which have been described as honest and forward-thinking. These dialogues are slated to continue in Ankara in September. “The Ethiopian and Somali foreign ministers had an open, warm, and forward-leaning discussion,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry shared.