Browsing: Impact of the Ethiopia-Somalia port dispute on trade

The Ethiopia-Somaliland port dispute

Ethiopia-Somalia port dispute risks jeopardizing trade ties in the Horn of Africa

Regional Markets
  • Ethiopia-Somalia port dispute has seen the European Union, the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League declare support for Somalia.
  • The deal on the port agreement has rattled a section of Somalians who took to the streets in Mogadishu to protest against the agreement.
  • The Horn of Africa, region comprises countries such as Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, and has long been a strategic crossroads for trade and commerce.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in lost trade deals could be on the line as the Ethiopia-Somalia port dispute intensifies tension across the volatile Horn of Africa region.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland’s leader Muse Bihi Abdi signed an agreement granting Ethiopia a 50-year lease on a naval base, effectively allowing access to Somaliland’s Berbera port for commercial marine operations.

As per the Memorandum of Understanding, landlocked Ethiopia was granted the right to utilize facilities in the Gulf …