Somalia signs law 'nullifying' Ethiopia-Somaliland port pact

The president of Somalia has signed a legislation “nullifying” a controversial agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia, expressing his government’s disapproval of the port access arrangement primarily by symbolic action.

The decree, according to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, nullified the “illegal” agreement that granted landlocked Ethiopia long-desired access to the Red Sea through Somaliland, a breakaway province in northwest Somalia over which Somalia has no actual control.

The president said on X, previously Twitter, that the bill’s passing on Saturday night “is an illustration of our commitment to safeguard our unity, sovereignty & territorial integrity as per international law.”

The port deal between regional giant Ethiopia and Somaliland, whose 1991 declaration of independence from Somalia is not recognised internationally, has drawn the vehement opposition of the central government in Mogadishu, which has promised to reject it by all legal means.

Calling the unexpected agreement struck on Monday an act of “aggression” and a breach of its sovereignty, Somalia made a plea for help from other countries.

Although it vehemently rejects Somaliland’s independence claim, it really has little influence on the operations of the de facto state, which possesses a lengthy coastline along one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, as well as its own government, security forces, and currency.

Somaliland’s leadership has said Ethiopia would “formally recognise the Republic of Somaliland” under the deal, but this has not been confirmed by the government in Addis Ababa.

The agreement has raised tensions in the Horn of Africa and the African Union, United States, European Union and the Arab League have called for calm and for Somalia’s sovereignty to be respected.

The memorandum of understanding gives Ethiopia access to commercial maritime services and a military base, with Somaliland leasing it 20 kilometres (12 miles) of coastline for 50 years.

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa and one of the biggest landlocked nations in the world, was cut off from the coast after Eritrea seceded and declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade war.

Addis Ababa had maintained access to a port in Eritrea until the two countries went to war in 1998-2000, and since then Ethiopia funnels most of its trade through Djibouti.