Ethiopia has taken the first legal steps on a path that could one day enable the landlocked country to gain access to the sea, its government says. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has previously described sea access as an existential issue for his country. The details of Monday's agreement with Somaliland have not been made public but a statement from Mr Abiy's office said it would "pave the way to realise the aspiration of Ethiopia to secure access to the sea". Talks leading up to the MoU have focused on the Somaliland port of Berbera. Ethiopia lost its access to the sea when Eritrea seceded in the early 1990s.

Source: Ethiopian News January 01, 2024 20:22 UTC