Beijing, China – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declined a proposal to meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing, according to diplomatic sources.
This marks the second time President Mohamud has refused a direct meeting with the Ethiopian leader, highlighting the growing strain in relations between the two neighbouring countries. Efforts to arrange the meeting were spearheaded by key African leaders, including the Presidents of Djibouti and Mauritania, and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the African Union’s special envoy. However, despite their mediation attempts, the discussions failed to materialize.
This is not the first time attempts have been made to reconcile the two leaders. Earlier this year, Kenyan President William Ruto tried to broker talks between Mohamud and Ahmed during a summit in Nairobi. However, those efforts, like the most recent initiative in Beijing, ended without success.
The repeated refusal by President Mohamud to meet with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reflects deepening tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia. Central to this diplomatic rift is Ethiopia’s controversial agreement with the self-declared breakaway region of Somaliland.
In January, Ethiopia signed a deal to lease 20 kilometers of coastline from Somaliland, in exchange for backing its claims of independence from Somalia. The agreement is seen by the government in Mogadishu as illegal and a direct affront to Somalia’s sovereignty. Somaliland, located in the northern part of Somalia, declared independence in 1991, but it has not gained international recognition.
Mogadishu has maintained a firm stance against Somaliland’s independence, viewing it as an integral part of Somalia. The Ethiopian government’s agreement with Somaliland has only further inflamed the situation, leading to a breakdown in relations between Ethiopia and Somalia.
Following the January agreement, Somalia responded by expelling Ethiopia’s ambassador to Mogadishu and issuing threats to remove Ethiopian troops stationed there.
Further complicating matters, last month Turkish-mediated talks between Somalia and Ethiopia failed to resolve the issue. Held in Ankara, the discussions saw both sides refrain from direct negotiations, as their foreign ministers avoided face-to-face talks.
