Interview of Djibouti President IOG with
@jeune_afrique
Another regional crisis that concerns you directly: the one between your Ethiopian and Somali neighbors over Somaliland. You brought together the presidents of #Somalia and #Somaliland and an agreement was reached for these discussions to continue. But on January 1 , Somaliland Muse Bihi Abdi was in Addis Ababa, where, to everyone’s surprise, he signed a document with Abiy Ahmed under the terms of which he would grant Ethiopia a portion of its coastline in exchange for recognition. of the independence of Somaliland. How did you take this turnaround?
Like a stab in the back. Bihi Abdi left Djibouti at 6 a.m. [January 31] without informing me of his destination or of course what he was planning. As for Abiy Ahmed, he knows very well that this project has practically no chance of being endorsed by the international community and therefore of prospering. Its objective is to put on the table the problem of Ethiopia’s accessibility to the sea and to unite its opinion around a national cause.
There is talk of the establishment of an Ethiopian military base and a commercial port in the Zeilah area, 30 kilometers from the border between Djibouti and Somaliland…
These are just rumors at the moment. No one, apart from the two signatories, really knows what this agreement contains.
In his speech of October 13, 2023, Abiy Ahmed said he was invested with a mission: that of giving Ethiopia access to the sea again. A “natural right” and “an existential question” according to him, in order to “ free” his country from its “geographic prison”. These are strong, almost worrying terms…
Effectively. I remember that in 1994, during the London negotiations which accompanied the independence of Eritrea, the president of the transitional Ethiopian government, Mélès Zenawi, asked to retain the use of the port of Assab, as well as of an access corridor. To which his Eritrean counterpart, Issayas Afeworki, replied: “You will not have a square meter of territory. It’s all or nothing. I am ready to resume armed struggle. » Thirty years later, Abiy Ahmed rekindles this old frustration.
When Ethiopian leaders add that they no longer want to depend on the port of Djibouti alone, through which 90% of their trade passes, is that not understandable?
Certainly. If its development requires it, Ethiopia does indeed need several ports. An agreement has just been concluded with that of Lamu, in Kenya, and they already have use of that of Berbera, in Somaliland. For our part, we have made major financial and diversification efforts to reduce our dependence on the Ethiopian market. The latter now only represents 40% of our port activity.
The Ethiopians blame the excessively high prices, according to them, of the ports of Djibouti. They put forward the figure of 1.5 billion dollars per year. Isn’t that excessive?
Of this sum, what returns to the coffers of the State of Djibouti does not represent more than 400 million dollars! Everything else is a matter of transactions between Ethiopian entities and nationals. They know it very well., apart from the two signatories, really knows what this agreement contains.
In his speech of October 13, 2023, Abiy Ahmed said he was invested with a mission: that of giving Ethiopia access to the sea again. A “natural right” and “an existential question” according to him, in order to “ free” his country from its “geographic prison”. These are strong, almost worrying terms?
Effectively. I remember that in 1994, during the London negotiations which accompanied the independence of Eritrea, the president of the transitional Ethiopian government, Mélès Zenawi, asked to retain the use of the port of Assab, as well as of an access corridor. To which his Eritrean counterpart, Issayas Afeworki, replied: “You will not have a square meter of territory. It’s all or nothing. I am ready to resume armed struggle. » Thirty years later, Abiy Ahmed rekindles this old frustration
