Addis Abeba– Ethiopia and Somalia have announced that the next round of technical negotiations on the Ankara Declaration will take place in March 2025, following the first round of discussions held on 17 February in Ankara, Türkiye.
In a joint statement, the two countries said they had begun “concrete work to transform this vision into reality” and reaffirmed their commitment to “the letter and spirit” of the declaration.
The statement, issued after the meeting, added that both sides aimed to “lay the ground for mutually beneficial sustainable development.” It also noted that Türkiye “will continue to prepare the ground” for the next round of talks in March.
According to the statement, the meeting was hosted by Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos and Somalia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Mohamed Omar leading their respective delegations. The negotiations were held “within the scope of the Ankara Declaration,” which was signed on 11 December 2024.
The Ankara Declaration, signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, with the facilitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reaffirmed what the parties described as “respect and commitment to one another’s sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity.” It also recognized the “potentially diverse benefits” of Ethiopia gaining “assured access to and from the sea” while emphasizing “respect for the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.”
The declaration outlines a four-month timeframe for technical negotiations on Ethiopia’s sea access. Ethiopia and Somalia agreed “to closely work together to finalize mutually advantageous commercial arrangements” under Somalia’s sovereign authority.
The agreement followed diplomatic tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia in early 2024 when Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Somaliland. The MoU, which granted Ethiopia access to 20 kilometers of Somaliland’s coastline, was condemned by Somalia as an “infringement on Somalia’s territorial sovereignty.” AS
