Ahmad 
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has confirmed that he has signed a law cancelling a regional agreement known as “Somaliland”, which gave Ethiopia the right to exploit the Red Sea port of Berbera commercially and militarily.
“This law reflects his country’s commitment to preserving its unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity in accordance with international law,” Sheikh Mahmood said on platform X.
The President noted that this action comes in the context of the illegal understanding between the Government of Ethiopia and Somaliland, which was recently signed which included leasing land in the port of Berbera to the Ethiopian Navy.
The Somali president did not elaborate on the details of the new law or when it was passed by parliament. There was no immediate comment from Somaliland or Ethiopian authorities on the development.
The shift comes nearly six years after the cancellation of a previous agreement between the two parties, which sparked considerable controversy in Somalia over Ethiopia’s potential maritime access through the port of Berbera.
In another move, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that his country would offer an unspecified stake in Ethiopian Airlines Somaliland in exchange for access to the Red Sea.
These developments illustrate the complexities and challenges of the regional landscape and their implications for interstate relations in the Horn of Africa.