A top Ethiopian official visited Somalia’s capital Thursday in the first high-level meetings since relations plummeted a year ago because of Ethiopia’s plan to access the sea through the breakaway Somaliland region.
Ethiopia’s minister of defense, Aisha Mohamed, met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and delivered a message from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on Facebook that both nations had agreed to collaborate on the new African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). However, the statement did not elaborate on the specifics of the collaboration.
According to a statement by Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur told his Ethiopian counterpart that Somalia is willing to consider Ethiopia’s request for its troops to join the AUSSOM mission.
Ethiopia also said the sides agreed to increase visits and exchanges, with both countries expecting that Somalia's senior leaders will visit Addis Ababa in the near future.
The Mogadishu talks take place after a year of strained relations that began last year when Ethiopia signed a controversial memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, which would provide landlocked Ethiopia with access to the Gulf of Aden.
The MOU was strongly opposed by Somalia's government, which still considers Somaliland to be part of Somalia and not authorized to reach agreements with foreign governments.
Somalia has repeatedly threatened to expel the thousands of Ethiopian troops from the AU peacekeeping mission if it did not renounce the MOU.
The discussions between Somalia and Ethiopia mark a significant step in the ongoing dialogue that began with the signing of the Ankara Agreement last month, which was brokered by Turkey.
A senior Somali government official, speaking anonymously, told VOA Somali that Somalia is expected to approve a limited role for Ethiopia in AUSSOM.
Despite significant troop contributions from Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda that would compensate for the absence of Ethiopian troops, a Somali official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the ongoing discussions with Ethiopia focused on determining the specific roles and areas where Ethiopian troops may be deployed, should they be allowed to join the mission.
During her visit to Somalia, Ethiopian Defense Minister Aisha stressed Ethiopia's commitment to contributing to peace and stability in Somalia.
“Combating terrorism is a key area of cooperation between the two nations,” the Ethiopian statement said.
Ethiopian troops have helped Somalia’s government in the past fend off attacks by the militant group al-Shabab.
Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, speaking in Mogadishu Thursday, said the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia had been resolved, attributing the progress to Somalia's "tolerance" in resolving the tensions.
