THE APPOINTMENT IN A STEP TOWARD NORMALIZING RELATIONS AFTER MONTHS OF DIPLOMATIC TENSION, ETHIOPIA HAS APPOINTED SULEIMAN DEDEFO AS ITS NEW AMBASSADOR TO SOMALIA.
THE RIFT FOLLOWED ETHIOPIA’S SIGNING OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH SOMALIA’S BREAKAWAY REGION, SOMALILAND, IN JANUARY 2024, A DEAL THAT REPORTEDLY GRANTED ETHIOPIA ACCESS TO THE RED SEA VIA SOMALILAND’S COASTLINE IN EXCHANGE FOR FUTURE RECOGNITION OF THE LATTER AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE
DIPLOMATIC TIES REMAINED STRAINED UNTIL DECEMBER 2024, WHEN ETHIOPIA AND SOMALIA SIGNED THE ANKARA DECLARATION, A TURKISH-BROKERED AGREEMENT THAT HELPED DE-ESCALATE TENSIONS AND LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR RENEWED DIALOGUEOF A NEW AMBASSADOR IS VIEWED AS PART OF BROADER EFFORTS TO REBUILD TRUST BETWEEN THE HORN OF AFRICA NEIGHBORS, WHO HAVE RESUMED HIGH-LEVEL EXCHANGES AND PLEDGED TO ADDRESS REMAINING POINTS OF CONTENTION.
