Mogadishu,Somalia-The Turkiye brokered Ethiopia-Somalia deal to end hostility and make arrangements for Ethiopia’s access to the sea has reportedly ended in fiasco.
The story made headlines on many media outlets after the African Intelligence reported about it on Thursday. Sources say the agreement collapsed after Somalia declined to offer Ethiopia sea access except for a commercial access arrangement in southern Somalia.
The government of Somalia has not released any official statement or remark about the report. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not remarked either.
However, there appears to be circumstantial evidence that could trigger questions if the Ankara Declaration is still alive.
In a span of four days, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met with Egyptian President Abdul Fetah Al-Sisi in Cairo and then headed to Ankara where he met with president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
On July 7, Villa Somalia shared video footage, on its social media page, of Hassan Sheikh being greeted with a state reception at the palace of Al-Calamayn in Cairo. The two presidents held a meeting but the details of which were not released. Egypt and Somalia signed a military pact in August 2024 as the latter entered into hostility with Ethiopia over the Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland. There was also a bilateral agreement whereby Egypt sent a total of 10,000 troops to Somalia including as part of the African Union peace keeping mission.
On July 11, Hassan Sheikh met with Erdoğan in Ankara where he received a state reception. According to Villa Somalia, they discussed “issues including strengthening the strategic relations between the two countries, with a particular focus on boosting security cooperation and eliminating Khawaarij.”
Ethiopia has been opposing Egyptian military presence in Somalia due to national security forces. Egypt has been linked to, at least for over half a century, proxy war in Ethiopia by supporting rebel groups.
Following the Ankara Agreement, Ethiopia and Somalia appeared as if they left their disagreements behind and there are clear signs of what appeared to be cooperation. Hassan Shiek visited Ethiopia in January 2025. Abiy visited Somalia in February 2025. Also, bilateral military agreement was signed with the arrangement for Ethiopia to deploy thousands of troops in Somalia in addition to its 2500 troops as part of African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
Somalia has been accusing Ethiopia of violating its sovereignty by signing a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland – a political entity that appears to be on the verge of gaining recognition as an independent state for which it has been campaigning for over three decades. Ethiopia is believed to be among countries that would recognize Somaliland. The weeks to come might share light as to what went wrong with rapprochement policies and efforts between Somalia and Ethiopia.
