Madrid Dec 11 (Europa Press) –
The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali, and the president of Somalia, Hasan Sheij Mohamud, have committed Wednesday since the capital of Turkey, Ankara, to initiate conversations to resolve their disputes around access to the Red Sea.
The parties, under the auspices of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have recognized the importance of Ethiopia having access to the sea and is respected, at the same time, the territorial integrity of Somalia, as collected by the Anatolia news agency.
Therefore, they have pledged to “abandon their differences” and to start negotiations at the end of next February-and that they conclude within four months-with the aim of achieving “common prosperity.”
“I think that the agreed joint declaration will lay the basis for cooperation, economic development and prosperity in the region based on mutual respect,” said the Turkish president in a press conference to three together with Ahmed and Mohamud.
Erdogan has recognized the “great sacrifices” that the parties have carried out, while also thanked the “constructive attitude” of the Ethiopian and Somali authorities. “We have taken the first step of a new beginning based on peace and cooperation,” he said.
For his part, the Somalí President has assured that “Ethiopia and Somalia are two neighboring countries that are interested in cooperating and building their own future.” “We belong to a region where peace and stability are our first priority,” he added.
In this sense, he stressed that his country “is willing to work with the Ethiopian leaders” about it. “All Africa is a very fragile and very volatile region that needs Ethiopia and Somalia to work together,” Mohamud reiterated.
Similarly, the Ethiopian Prime Minister has affirmed that he is committed to “regional integration” and recalled Ethiopia’s aspiration to have “safe” access to the sea, something that “would benefit all” neighboring countries.
“I think that today’s constructive debate will lead us to a new year with this spirit of cooperation, friendship and willingness to work together instead against each other,” he said, also transferring his gratitude to Erdogan for his role in the agreement .
The relations between Somalia and Ethiopia have deteriorated in recent years after the Adís Abeba agreement with Somaliland to obtain naval and commercial access for a period of 50 years in exchange for Adís Abeba to recognize his independence.
Ethiopia lost direct access to the sea in 1993, when Eritrea obtained her independence after three decades of conflict. Its main commercial route now runs along roads and a railway that joins Adís Abeba with a port in Yibuti, one of the five coastal neighbors that include Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya.
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