Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday to discuss strengthening cooperation and deepening relations between Somalia and Saudi Arabia.
During their meetings, the two leaders also discussed economic investment, trade, defence, and security.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed Saudi Arabia’s support for the unity and independence of the Federal Republic of Somalia, highlighting that Ethiopia’s recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Somaliland Administration is an obstacle to good neighborliness and stability in the region.
Ethiopian Prime Minister signed an MoU with the breakaway region of Somaliland, granting Ethiopia commercial and military access to 20 kilometres (12 miles) of the Somali coast for 50 years.
In return, Somaliland officials claim that landlocked Ethiopia would become the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent nation. However, the federal government rejected the Ethiopia-Somaliland port deal.
