PM Abiy Ahmed Ali and Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi signed the MoU in Addis Abeba on 01 January 2024 (Photo: Screenshot)Addis Abeba – The Somaliland Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said it has taken “a significant step towards international recognition today.”Somaliland takes a significant step towards international recognition today. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a Ministerial Level State recognition Taskforce to strategize and pursue recognition efforts. (1/2) #Somaliland #Diplomacy #Recognition pic.twitter.com/IyDLowNqOo — MFA Somaliland (@somalilandmfa) August 1, 2024The Ministry’s announcement further said Somaliland has “established a Ministerial Level State Recognition Taskforce to strategize and pursue recognition efforts, and that the decision “aligns with our government’s ongoing diplomatic initiatives, including the recent MoU with Ethiopia for sea access.”On 01 January 2024, Ethiopia and Somaliland signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) granting Ethiopia access to the sea in return for international recognition for Somaliland. Ethiopian officials’ official push back against critics of the MoU were in response to statements of condemnation from Egypt and the Arab League countries, while it continued maintaining its position to see through the MoU. However, there has since been no update from the Ethiopian side on the status of the MoU, which has generated backlash from the government of neighboring Somalia and subsequent diplomatic rows.
