Türkiye to host second round of Ethiopia, Somalia talks on port deal

The announcement of the talks comes a week after Turkish foreign minister visited Addis Ababa and met Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Ethiopia and Somalia will resume talks next week in Ankara to discuss a Red Sea port deal that Addis Ababa signed with breakaway region Somaliland, which sparked tensions between the East African neighbours. Türkiye is mediating talks between the two countries to discuss their disagreements and last month hosted Somali and Ethiopian foreign ministers. "The Ankara process between Somalia and Ethiopia was initiated under the leadership of our president. We initiated this process with meticulous effort. The efforts currently proceed and we plan to hold a second meeting next week," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday at a news conference. The announcement came a week after Fidan visited Addis Ababa and met Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Economic issue Access to the Red Sea remains a critical economic issue for Ethiopia. But its agreement in January to lease a 20km (12.4-mile) stretch of land along Somaliland's coast to establish a marine force base drew a backlash from Somalia. Somalia considers Somaliland part of its territory and denounced the deal as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Türkiye has a long-standing relationship and extensive cooperation with both countries and there is confidence in Ankara's mediation efforts. ????The second meeting of the Ankara Process between Ethiopia and Somalia will be held in Türkiye next week. ????”High-Level Security Mechanism” between Türkiye and Iraq will be convened in Türkiye next week. pic.twitter.com/8xXjb1agvk — Turkish MFA (@MFATurkiye) August 9, 2024 ➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.