Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has traveled to Ankara, Turkey, for a third round of discussions aimed at resolving escalating tensions with Ethiopia, according to the Somali state news agency. The dispute risks destabilizing the region.
The talks may bring President Mohamud face-to-face with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for the first time since Ethiopia announced plans to construct a port in Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region—a move that has provoked strong objections from Mogadishu.
Ethiopian officials and Turkey’s foreign ministry have not commented on the meeting.
Ethiopia, which maintains a significant military presence in Somalia to combat al-Shabaab militants, recently stated it would recognize Somaliland’s independence in exchange for control of a strategic coastal strip near the Red Sea and Indian Ocean junction.
“President Mohamud has departed for Ankara at the official invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The third round of Somalia-Ethiopia talks, mediated by Turkey, will resume,” the Somali National News Agency (SONNA) posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991, operates with relative peace and stability but has struggled for international recognition. Mogadishu remains staunchly opposed to its secession bid.
The diplomatic row has also nudged Somalia closer to Ethiopia’s rivals, Egypt and Eritrea. Egypt has long opposed Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile, and Eritrea remains a political adversary of Addis Ababa.
