Djibouti Declines to Sell Tadjoura Port to Ethiopia

NAIROBI, Kenya – In a move aimed at easing tensions in the Horn of Africa, Djibouti has offered to jointly manage the Tadjoura port with Ethiopia instead of selling it outright. Ethiopia, embroiled in a Red Sea access dispute with Somalia, finds itself at a tricky crossroads.

Relations have soured between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa due to Ethiopia’s intent to gain Red Sea access through Somaliland, a semi-autonomous part of Somalia. The resulting backlash has stirred up regional strife.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) grants Ethiopia, a major landlocked nation, access to the sea, a move Somalia sees as a direct violation of its sovereignty, according to AFP reports.

Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs minister, Mohamoud Ali Youssouf, clarified that they offered Ethiopia a partnership to manage the Tadjoura port as a way to reduce regional tension. “Selling the port was never on the table,” Youssouf emphasized.

“The port of Tadjoura is a national treasure. There’s no plan to cede or sell it,” Youssouf told reporters. Instead, “We propose collaborative management.”

The $60-million Tadjoura facility, operational since 2017, provides access to the Gulf of Aden and subsequently the Red Sea—key routes for global maritime trade. Ethiopia has been using Djibouti, Sudan, and Lamu ports for its trade, considering the arrangement costly.

Abiy Ahmed’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, did not provide any comments to AFP’s request. Djibouti relies heavily on international partners that operate through its well-developed infrastructure.

If executed, the Ethiopia- North Western of Somaliadeal would afford Ethiopia a 20-kilometer stretch along the Red Sea for a military base and port, in return for recognizing Somaliland’s independence.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, on Sunday, issued a stark warning against any country undermining Ethiopia’s sovereignty, threatening to “humiliate” such entities. This came after Ethiopia accused unnamed forces of attempting to destabilize the Horn of Africa.

These tensions followed Egypt’s recent military support to Somalia, likely agitated by Egypt’s long-standing issue with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Egypt is set to deploy African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) forces by January 2025.

Somalia vowed to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty, maintaining that it will not negotiate with Ethiopia until the ‘illegal’ MoU with North Western of Somaliais rescinded.

AXADLETM