Mogadishu to never accept Ethiopia-Somaliland pact, Foreign Minister Ali Omar says
A Somali man reacts during a march against the Ethiopia-Somaliland port deal along KM4 street in Mogadishu, Somalia on January 11, 2024. PHOTO | REUTERS
Somalia will never accept Ethiopia's plan to build a naval base in its breakaway region of Somaliland, but it would consider granting Ethiopia commercial port access if discussed bilaterally, Somalia's state minister for Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
Landlocked Ethiopia sparked a diplomatic row with Mogadishu in January by signing a deal with Somaliland to lease 20 kilometres of its coastline in return for recognising the region as an independent state.
