SOMALI MAGAZINE – Somalia would never accept Ethiopia’s desire to create a naval base in its breakaway province of Somaliland, but it would consider providing Ethiopia commercial port access if addressed bilaterally, Somalia’s foreign minister said on Friday.
In January, landlocked Ethiopia provoked a diplomatic spat with Mogadishu by agreeing to lease 20 kilometres (12 miles) of its coastline in exchange for recognizing Somaliland as an independent state.
Somalia declared the agreement unlawful since it considers Somaliland to be part of its territory, despite the fact that it has enjoyed functional autonomy since 1991.
“Somalia will never accept (a) naval base… Somalia is ready for commercial access in accordance with international law of the sea,” Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, Ali Omar, told Reuters.
He went on to say that Somalia was open to examine suggestions as long as they met the country’s objectives, which are to “safeguard (our) sovereignty, political independence, and unity”.