The governments of Somalia and Ethiopia held talks in Mogadishu regarding the implementation of the Ankara agreement and also the new mission of the African Union forces in Somalia AUSSOM.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Defense Mrs. Aisha Mohamed and a delegation headed by her went to Mogadishu to meet with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, while delivering a message from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Somalia and Ethiopia have agreed on cooperation in the new AUSSOM mission. The document did not mention the nature of the cooperation between the two parties.
On the other hand, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somalia said that the Minister of Defense of Somalia, Abdulkadir Mohamed Noor, in the talks he had with his Ethiopian counterpart, told him that Somalia is ready to consider Ethiopia’s request for its troops to join the Aussom mission.
The relationship between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa worsened at the beginning of last year when Ethiopia entered into a dispute with the Somaliland administration regarding the access of Ethiopia to the sea of Somalia, a move that was widely rejected by the central government of Somalia.