Sunday February 25, 2024
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met
with the EU Ambassador to Somalia, Ms. Karin Johansson, to discuss security,
development, and Somalia’s ongoing democratization process.
During the meeting in Mogadishu on Saturday, the Ambassador
reiterated the EU’s profound respect for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity, and
territorial integrity.
President Mohamud and the Ambassador emphasized the need to
foster closer collaboration between Somalia and the EU.
Last month, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep
Borrell, reaffirmed the bloc's support for the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of Somalia in a phone call with Somali President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud. The EU stressed the importance of respecting Somalia's territorial
integrity and sovereignty after its breakaway region of Somaliland signed a
controversial deal with Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland President
Muse Bihi Abdi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the Ethiopian
capital, Addis Ababa, granting Ethiopia access to the Red Sea through the port
of Berbera in Somaliland.
Somalia rejected the deal, calling it a threat to good
neighborliness and a violation of its sovereignty.