Djibouti offers port to defuse Ethiopia-Somalia tension
Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf says his country has a proposal that could solve the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia.
In an interview with VOA’s Horn of Africa Service, Youssouf said his country has offered to give Ethiopia access to the port of Tadjoura, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with Ethiopia.
He said Djibouti and other countries such as Turkey have been trying to solve the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia, which ignited at the beginning of this year when Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the breakaway region of Somaliland, a deal Somalia sees as an infringement to its sovereignty.
Under the deal, Somaliland would lease 20 kilometers (12 miles) of shoreline to Ethiopia in return for recognition, according to Somaliland officials.
Ethiopia already relies on Djibouti’s main port to import most of its goods, using four different terminals, said Youssouf, who is a candidate for the African Union Commission chairperson.
“Djibouti is even ready to hand over a new port, a brand-new port that has been built, a brand-new corridor to the northern border of Djibouti, that corridor will be very helpful to Ethiopia, at least to decrease the cost of transport,” he said.
“Djibouti is even ready to consider a mix-management of the port with Ethiopia,” he added.
Read More at:
- https://www.voanews.com/a/djibouti-offers-port-to-defuse-ethiopia-somalia-tension/7766797.html
- https://maritime-executive.com/article/djibouti-offers-port-to-ethiopia-in-hopes-of-easing-regional-tensions
- https://www.ajot.com/news/djibouti-planning-to-offer-ethiopia-port-access-to-ease-tensions
- https://kenyanwallstreet.com/djibouti-to-offer-ethiopia-exclusive-port/
- https://addisfortune.news/djibouti-offers-ethiopia-strategic-ports-full-control-in-bid-to-ease-regional-tensions/
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A recent problem of fuel shortage has emerged in Ethiopia. This problem is caused by the breakdown of the Horizon fuel storage in Djibouti, where Ethiopia gets its fuel from.
Because of this breakdown, there is now a fuel shortage in many cities of Ethiopia outside of Addis Ababa. Some areas have even run out of fuel very quickly.
The deputy head of the Oil and Energy Authority raised concerns that gas stations may be hiding fuel because they think fuel prices will go up soon. To prevent this, the authorities are working closely with regional trade offices and other important groups to closely watch the situation.
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In its August 2024 North America Market Update, Maersk highlights key maritime industry insights and challenges, such as the Red Sea situation, ILA-USMX labor negotiations, and regulatory uncertainties from global elections and geopolitical tensions, all of which significantly impact global trade and supply chains.
The first half of 2024 saw mixed trends in global shipping. Despite a 10.4% increase in containership supply, global capacity utilization rose by 2% compared to the previous year, according to Maersk. Container ports were resilient, with the top 10 ports reporting a combined growth of 7.4%. However, port congestion and route diversions around the Cape of Good Hope have limited capacity expansion.
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