The deal will pave the way for the landlocked country to use the port of Berbera.
Landlocked Ethiopia has signed an initial agreement with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland to use its Red Sea port of Berbera, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office said.
The Horn of Africa country currently relies on neighboring Djibouti for most of its maritime trade.
Ethiopia was cut off from the coast after Eritrea broke away from Addis Ababa and officially declared independence in 1993 after a three-decade war.
“This has now been agreed with our Somaliland brothers and an MoU [memorandum of understanding] “The agreement was signed today,” Abiy said Monday at the signing ceremony with Somali President Muse Bihi Abdi in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Abiy's office called the agreement “historic,” adding that it “will pave the way to realizing Ethiopia's aspirations to secure access to the sea and diversify its access to seaports.”
“It also strengthens their security and their economic and political partnership,” the Prime Minister’s Office wrote in a post on X.
prime minister @AbiyAhmedAli and Somaliland President Muse Bihe Abdi signed a historic memorandum of understanding in Addis Ababa.#PMOEthiopia pic.twitter.com/6lPlCoepGr
— Prime Minister's Office – Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) January 1, 2024
The deal comes months after Abiy said the country should assert its right to access the Red Sea, sparking concerns in the region.
Abdi said that under the agreement, Ethiopia will be the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent nation in due course.
The deal paves the way for Ethiopia to conduct commercial maritime operations in the region by giving it access to a leased military base on the Red Sea, Abiy's national security adviser Redwan Hussien said
Somaliland would also get a stake in Ethiopia's national airline, Hussien said, without giving details.
Despite Somalia's declaration of autonomy in 1991, Somaliland has not achieved widespread international recognition. Somalia refers to Somaliland as part of its territory.
Somalia's state media agency SONNA reported last week that Somalia and Somaliland had agreed to resume talks to resolve their disputes following mediation efforts led by Djibouti.