BY YOHANES JEMANEH
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) was among the first leaders who congratulated President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud upon his election as president of Somalia on May 2022.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) had also issued a statement to congratulate former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on his reelection as President of Somalia. In the statement, MoFA has expressed that the Government and people of Ethiopia look forward to working with the President and his administration in the spirit of the longstanding and amicable relationship between Ethiopia and Somalia.
Since his election, the president has been undertaking various working visits in the region. On September 28, the President on official state visit in Ethiopia where he was accorded a warm welcome from higher government officials including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
During his stay in Ethiopia, President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud had discussions with PM Abiy and other senior government officials about bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. The two leaders expressed commitment to further strengthen relations particularly on enabling a stable Horn Region.
They raised and discussed various issues of mutual and regional concerns ranging from collaboration to overcoming threats of terrorism and extremism to bilateral economic cooperation.
A Joint Communique issued on 30 September 2022, at the end of the official state visit by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud indicated that the two nations agreed to strengthen the longstanding bilateral ties and relationship of the two peoples based on respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of both countries.
After paying tribute to the gallant Ethiopian Defense Forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice for peace, stability and nation building in Somalia, the reiterated their determination to effectively collaborate in the fight against their nations’ common enemies of terrorism and extremism and directed their respective security agencies to strengthen existing mechanisms of cooperation and agreed to exchange intelligence
Both Leaders also applauded the recent successful offensive by the SNA against Al Shabab in the regions of Hiraan and Galmudug. In the Joint Comminique, the leaders call upon the UNSC to consider the request of the Governments of Somalia for the lifting of the arms embargo imposed on the country for more than 30 years to ensure that Somalia is sufficiently equipped to effectively address the security threat posed by the Al Shabab terrorist groups.
They have emphasized the need to work together, minimize the effects of undue external interferences that could potentially undermine their joint effort for peace and stability in the region and effectively combat terrorism. To this effect, they have agreed to hold regular bilateral consultations and to collaborate in multilateral and regional forums to promote their common national interests on the basis of mutual respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries.
The leaders noted that the two countries and the sub-region at large, are facing recurrent drought and other multifaceted natural disasters induced by climate change, threatening the livelihoods of the peoples of the region. They stressed in this regard, the imperative to collaborate and the need to redouble efforts to overcome these challenges. They also called upon international partners to continue to support affected communities including in the area of building long term livelihood resilience.
In the Communique, Ethiopia pledged to increase scholarships and training opportunities granted for the civil servants and security forces of the Federal Republic of Somalia with a view to enhancing the implementation capacity of government agencies. It is to bear in mind that Ethiopia has been granting scholarships every year to Somalia students in higher learning institutions for a first degree as well as post-graduate studies. In the academic year of 2019/2020 alone, Ethiopia granted over 315 scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate Somalia students.
The two leaders also emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation in the areas of trade, economy and infrastructure as well as communications in addition to the well-established political and security collaborations. Directed the respective government offices to hold the Joint Ministerial Commission in rotating manner in the soonest possible time, to discuss and set directions and implementation mechanisms on issues of mutual interest, according to the Communique.
The Joint Ministerial Commission was established in 2013 to further strengthen the political, economic and social cooperation between Ethiopia and Somalia. Both countries are committed to taking their relations to a higher level through deepening ties in defense, Foreign Ministries, Trade, Air Flight Service, Capacity Building and Public Administration cooperation, Education and Health.
In regional peace and security matters, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia have been working together after Ethiopia-Eritrea rapprochement. Following the restoration of bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and Eritrea and Somalia, the three countries agreed to work in coordination to promote regional peace and security with the intention to build close ties. Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea held a tripartite summit and issued a Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Cooperation on 5 September 2018. The three countries also held a second tripartite summit and reaffirmed their commitment to an inclusive regional peace and cooperation. With the framework of IGAD, Ethiopia and Somalia is working in collaboration with regional economic integration and peace and security.
Since peace and security of the two nations is intertwined as they are neighbors, Ethiopia and Somalia are closely cooperating in the security and military fields. Ethiopia supports the Somalia reconstruction efforts through the capacity building of Somalia security institutions. It has been providing training for Somalia defense and police forces. As part of support to stabilize Somalia, Ethiopia has deployed more than 4,000 peacekeeping troops under AMISOM, which replaced by AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) and played a critical role in security gains made in the fight against Al-Shabaab.
Recently, Ethiopia has been deploying troops to Somalia to assist the fight against the terrorist group. On September 20, the Vice President of Somalia’s Jubaland region and senior military leaders of Jubaland welcomed the 6th Motorized Peacekeeping Battalion Commander deployed in the region.
At the reception program, the Vice President of Jubaland, Mahmed Said, said that Somalia and Ethiopia are brotherly countries, united in history and culture.
He said that the Ethiopian peacekeeping battalions are sacrificing their lives every day for peace and stability in Somalia. “On behalf of all the residents of the region, I wish the 6th Motorized Peacekeeping Battalion a good working time for those who came to the Jubaland region to maintain peace.”
The sector is ready to do a lot of work for the peace of Jubaland region. The Commander-in-Chief of the 6th Mortarized Peacekeeping Battalion, Col. Wedaj Bogale said that the 6th Mortarized Battalion, which is under the umbrella of ATMIS, is ready to ensure safe peace in Jubaland.
The relations between Ethiopia and Somalia had begun when Somalia has got its independence in 1961. The two countries had seen ups and downs in their relations since then. Their relationship is deeply rooted regardless of the type of government that they have. Taking into account these deep-rooted ties, they restored their diplomatic relations by opening missions in their capitals. Ethiopia opened Embassy in Mogadishu in 2007 and has consulates in Garowe and Hargeisa. The Somali Embassy was reopened in 2006 in Addis Ababa.
The information obtained from MoFA indicated that Ethiopia has played and continues to play a critical role in the process of the State formation and reconstruction efforts of Somalia bilaterally and through IGAD. Since the establishment of Somalia Transitional Government in 2004, Ethiopia and Somalia have been working in coordination in the fight against terrorism, and towards ensuring lasting stability and political transformation in Somalia.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 4 OCTOBER 2022
