By Horn Daily
September 6, 2025
Former Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi has publicly explained why the landmark agreement signed with Ethiopia in January 2024 to grant sea access through Somaliland’s coastline ultimately collapsed, despite initial momentum and high expectations.
In an interview reported by The Daily Somalia, Bihi said that while Somaliland had prepared its side of the deal, Ethiopia failed to advance the agreement once regional and international opposition mounted.
“The matter on our side was ready, but Ethiopia failed to move it forward,” Bihi said. “The African Union, the Arab League led by Egypt, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation all sided with Somalia.”
A Deal That Promised to Reshape the Horn
The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed in Addis Ababa by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Muse Bihi, aimed to provide Ethiopia—a landlocked nation dependent on Djibouti for nearly 90 percent of its imports and exports—with an alternative maritime route.
The arrangement envisioned a 50-year lease of a 20-kilometre stretch of Somaliland’s Gulf of Aden coastline. For Ethiopia, the deal promised to diversify its maritime lifeline. For Somaliland, it was a bold diplomatic move that linked sea access to its decades-long quest for international recognition.
Backlash From Mogadishu and Beyond
The announcement, however, immediately triggered strong opposition. Somalia’s federal government denounced the deal as a violation of its sovereignty, warning that it would not accept any agreement signed without Mogadishu’s approval.
That stance was quickly reinforced by major regional and global organisations. The African Union, Arab League, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) all rejected Ethiopia’s attempt, with Egypt and other Arab states applying heavy pressure against the MoU.
“Arab states applied heavy pressure, and the OIC unanimously agreed Ethiopia was wrong. That is what forced the deal to collapse,” Bihi admitted.
Miscalculation and Admission
Looking back, Bihi conceded that Somaliland underestimated the scale of the backlash the MoU would provoke.
“We had not included this scenario in our planning,” he acknowledged.
His remarks mark the first clear admission from one of the architects of the agreement that the deal has stalled indefinitely, leaving Ethiopia still heavily reliant on Djibouti and Somaliland still waiting for the diplomatic breakthrough it hoped the pact would deliver.