Somalia, Ethiopia to invest in four seaports on the Red Sea

June 19, 2018: Somalia and Ethiopia have announced that they will be jointly investing in four seaports to attract foreign investment in both the countries.

Somalia’s president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed during a meet at Mogadishu, have issued a joint statement of pledges to cooperate on everything from the development of infrastructure including roads linking the two countries to expanding visa services to promote cultural exchanges.

The Horn of Africa’s Red Sea coastline extending north of Somalia through Djibouti and Eritrea toward the critical Suez Canal is already dotted with ports owned or run by countries locked in a regional struggle: the United Arab Emirates and its ally Saudi Arabia on one side, and Turkey which backs Qatar on the other.

“The leaders further agreed to invest in logistics and service provision specially to leading ports in the continent that can serve both the Indian ocean and the Red Sea,” the statement read.

The day before Abiy’s visit to Somalia, UAE pledged to give $3 billion to Ethiopia in aid and investments, in a major show of support for the new leadership in Ethiopia. The strengthened partnership between Ethiopia and the oil-rich Gulf monarchy is significant in the context of Addis Ababa’s ties with Mogadishu.

Somalia and the UAE have been at odds for months over the broader dispute in the Gulf region. In May, Ethiopian state media reported that Ethiopia had taken an unspecified stake in the port of Djibouti, its main gateway for trade.