Jidbaale
Beijing Jidbaale:- Diplomatic sources report that Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has rejected a suggestion to hold a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing.
The Presidents of Djibouti and Mauritania, along with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who serves as the African Union’s special envoy, attempted to mediate the conference, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
This is the second time that President Mohamud has declined to meet with Abiy Ahmed. Previously, Kenyan President William Ruto made an effort to arrange discussions between the two leaders in Nairobi, but this endeavor was also unsuccessful.
The diplomatic conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia arises from Ethiopia’s decision to lease 20 kilometers of coastline from the breakaway Somaliland area in exchange for supporting its independence, a deal Mogadishu believes unconstitutional.
Last month, Turkish-mediated talks to resolve the deadlock concluded without an accord, as the Somali and Ethiopian foreign ministers avoided direct meetings in Ankara. Somalia replied to the January deal by dismissing the Ethiopian ambassador and threatening to remove Ethiopian troops engaging in anti-terrorist operations in Somalia.
