A delegation from Eritrea was on Monday 13/8/2018 welcomed in Somalia amid brewing diplomatic row between Mogadishu and Djibouti.
President Mohamed Farmaajo welcomed the delegation that was led by Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Yemane Gebreab, top adviser to President Isaias Afwerki.
The two horn of Africa neighbors wish to re-establish diplomatic relations and advance a comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.
On July 30, Somali President visited Asmara where the two country’s leadership fronted to work together, foster a mutual relation and subsequently promote stability in the region.
The two countries also agreed to develop political, economic, social and cultural initiatives, as well as defense and security cooperation. They also will exchange ambassadors and promote bilateral trade and investment in the coming days.
President Farmaajo’s visit to Eritrea in July was the first for a Somali leader since Eritrea declared its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, and the latest in a string of diplomatic shifts in the Horn of Africa region.
The new-found relation between Eritrea and Somalia has not gone well with Djibouti, a country that has contributed a peacekeeping force in Somalia.
Djibouti remains immersed in a decade-long border dispute with Eritrea that even led the two countries’ armed forces to clash. In a statement by Djibouti, it indicated its disappointment with Somalia that its supports militarily supporting Eritrea that occupies part of Djibouti and still holds Djiboutian prisoners.
The current impasse caught the attention of the former Somalia President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who called on the government of Farmaajo to review its position on the matter.
In a Facebook post authored in Somali, Hassan Sheikh referred to sacrifices that Djibouti made for Somalia in the ongoing counterterrorism efforts saying Somalia need to replicate same.
In the visit Somalia and Eritrea wish to restore diplomatic relations that was cut after Asmara was accused of backing the Al-Qaeda linked militant group, Al-Shabaab.
