Hargeisa (PP Information Desk) — The President of the Somaliland administration, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, presently visiting Djibouti, was obtained by President Ismail Omar Guelleh. The go to signifies a decisive shift from the stance of Abdullahi’s successor, President Muse Bihi Abdi, who beforehand regarded Djibouti as “an enemy state”.
Relations between Hargeisa and Djibouti deteriorated after President Bihi signed a controversial maritime Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which sought to lease a coastal district to Ethiopia for a naval base. The settlement was broadly condemned for violating Somali sovereignty. Djibouti aligned with the Federal Authorities of Somalia in rejecting the MoU, describing it as a breach of the African Union Constitution.
President Abdullahi’s go to displays his administration’s new coverage course, fulfilling marketing campaign pledges to revive regional ties and pursue peaceable resolutions. He has revoked the maritime MoU and advocated dialogue to deal with the battle in Sool, Togdheer, and Sanaag with the federal member state, SSC-Khatumo (SSCK) administration based mostly in Laascaanood.
“President Abdullahi reversed the self-defeating insurance policies of his predecessor, who falsely claimed Al-Shabaab operated from Laascaanood. The present authorities has disbanded clan militias mobilised underneath Bihi following the defeat of Somaliland forces at Gojacadde in August 2023,” famous an analyst from a Hargeisa-based assume tank.
President Guelleh is reportedly facilitating efforts to renew dialogue between the Federal Authorities of Somalia and the Somaliland administration, a secessionist entity. “There are hurdles to restarting talks, chief amongst them the classification of secession as a nationwide safety menace by Somalia,” the analyst added.
Ethiopia, which had deliberate to assemble a service provider port at Lughaya to cut back dependence on Djibouti’s ports, has since withdrawn from the maritime MoU. The choice aligns with its commitments as a member of the African Union and the Ankara Settlement signed in December 2024 by Somali President Dr Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
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