Eritrea, Ethiopia pledge to respect Somalia's sovereignty

The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have pledged to respect the ‘sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence’ of Somalia, following a second tripartite meeting, held in the Ethiopian city of Bahir Dar.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting of Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed, Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki and Somalia’s Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo agreed to consolidate their mutual solidarity following the September tripartite agreement.

READ MORE: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia pact boost for regional peace, devtEritrea and Somalia normalised relations in July this, after over a decade of animosity fuelled by accusations that the government is Asmara was sponsoring terrorists fighting to topple the Somali government.

Ethiopia on the other hand, has also fallen foul of Somalia’s government, most recently, when it signed a port management agreement with the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland.

Somalia’s prime minister, Hassan Ali, while denouncing the deal for the management of Berbera port emphasised that ‘all those seeking to acquire ports and similar resources must deal with the federal government’.

READ MORE: Somalia rejects Somaliland port deal with Ethiopia and UAE companyOn Eritrea’s sanctions

The statement says the three leaders also welcomed the impending lifting of sanctions against Eritrea, saying it would enhance peace and development in the region.

The sanctions imposed by the United Nations in 2009 and 2011, were premised on Eritrea’s reported hostility and aggression towards its neighbours including Somalia and Djibouti.

Eritrea has since normalised relations with both countries and called for the lifting of what it describes as ‘illegal, unjust and unwarranted’ sanctions.

READ MORE: Horn of Africa unites on Eritrea sanctions lifting at UNGA> The joint declaration of by the Leaders of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia ended with an agreement to hold the next tripartite meeting in Mogadishu. pic.twitter.com/HX3nppKyKA

— Office of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) 10 novembre 2018