Türkiye’s top diplomat to visit Ethiopia

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will pay a visit to Ethiopia over the weekend as part of Türkiye’s mediation between Ethiopia and Somalia, which have been at odds over the former’s attempts to have access to the Red Sea through Somaliland, a breakaway region of the latter.

Fidan will hold talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Foreign Minister Atske Selassie on August 3, the Turkish diplomatic sources said.

The visit comes after Fidan brought Ethiopian and Somalian foreign ministers together in Ankara on July 1 to launch a process for the resolution of the problem between the two neighboring countries through diplomacy and dialogue.

The two sides had agreed to come together once again in Ankara on Sept. 2 to advance talks aimed at resolving their differences.

Ethiopia had signed an agreement with Somaliland to have access to the Red Sea and use a port there and promised to become the first country to recognize the breakaway region. Somalia has fiercely reacted to this development which followed a security agreement with Türkiye for the protection of its sea security. Ethiopia had lost its access to sea following Eritrea’s de facto independence in 1991.

Türkiye’s mediation between the two countries had received appreciation from the international community.

In Ethiopia, Fidan will discuss the process between Ethiopia and Somalia and ways to advance it in their next meeting in early September. The talks will also cover other regional and international developments as well as bilateral issues.

The two countries aim to increase the trade volume to $1 billion in the next five years. Türkiye is among the top four countries in the category of foreign direct investment into Ethiopia.