Multilateral Pressure Derails Ethiopia’s Red Sea Access Bid

HARGEISA, Somalia - The African Union (AU) and the Arab League of Nations played an integral role in blocking the controversial deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland, it has emerged, potentially neutralising a fallout within the Horn of Africa.

The deal, which was signed to provide Ethiopia with access to the Red Sea in return for recognition of Somaliland, came a few months after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took over, putting pressure on his administration.

With the international partners also opposing the move, there were plans by Somaliland to have former Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, alias Farmajo, in Hargeisa, a significant move which would give the deal credibility.

Muse Bihi Abdi, the former Somaliland leader and the architect of the deal, said the agreement would have succeeded but added that the momentum collapsed when Addis Ababa came under heavy pressure from powerful regional and international actors.

“The African Union and the Arab League opposed the deal, and even major powers such as the United States were alarmed,” Bihi said. “Africa’s collective voice stopped Ethiopia. At one point, there was even discussion of relocating the AU headquarters if Addis Ababa refused to withdraw.”

Ethiopia was seeking access to the Red Sea for the construction of a military base and a port in exchange for recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland. In return, Somaliland had offered 20 kilometers of access to the Red Sea.

Somalia denounced the deal as a direct assault on Somalia’s sovereignty, while regional organizations cautioned it could destabilize an already fragile Horn of Africa. Abiy Ahmed picked Farmajo as a critical asset for the deal.

“Abiy called us both and urged us to make peace,” he recalled. “I told him the people elected me with a mandate for separation," Bihi claimed. “I spoke directly to Farmaajo and told him: if you want to come to Hargeisa, you will come on our terms. He agreed, but Abiy was pushing him, so I stopped the visit,” Bihi said.

On Somaliland’s external relations, Bihi said its outreach to Taiwan followed a standoff with China’s ambassador to Somalia, who had urged him not to raise the issue of independence. “I told him: if you do not recognize Somaliland, then I do not recognize you. That’s when we turned to Taiwan,” Bihi said.

Turkey brokered the truce between Somalia and Ethiopia following the controversial deal, with Ethiopia still insisting that it shall "peacefully" look for access to the sea. A technical committee was picked by the two countries to discuss potential commercial access to the sea by Ethiopia.

GAROWE ONLINE