The Somali cabinet will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to decide on a response to the bilateral agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland, the Somali state news agency reported.
The agreement, which was signed by Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa on Monday, will allow Ethiopia to establish commercial shipping operations, and grant it access to a leased military base in the Red Sea, Abiy's National Security adviser, Redwan Hussien said, according to reports.
In return, Somaliland would acquire a stake in Ethiopian Airlines, the state-owned carrier, Hussien reportedly said.
Due to its lack of maritime access, Ethiopia requires the establishment of a seaport to reduce its dependence on neighboring nations' ports. According to Ethiopia's prime minister, obtaining access to the sea is a crucial objective for the nation's prosperous advancement.
Somaliland is a breakaway region in East Africa that has not gained widespread international recognition despite declaring its separation from Somalia in 1991. Somalia asserts that Somaliland is within its sovereign territorial jurisdiction.
Last week, the news agency reported that Somalia and Somaliland had decided to initiate talks in order to resolve their disagreements, following mediation efforts led by Djibouti.