Ethiopia and Somalia have reached an agreement on the positioning of Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) troops within the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), according to a joint communiqué issued after a visit by Ethiopian military officials to Mogadishu on February 22.
The Ethiopian delegation, led by Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Chief of Ethiopia’s National Defense Force, held discussions with Somali officials on regional security and the need to maintain stability in the Horn of Africa. The talks followed a recent meeting between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Addis Ababa.
Somalia’s Chief of Defense Forces, Maj. Gen. Odawa Yusuf Rage, and the Director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, welcomed the Ethiopian officials and reaffirmed the strong security cooperation between the two countries.
The agreement comes after recent tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia over Ethiopia’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Somaliland, which sought to grant Ethiopia access to Somaliland’s coastline. Somalia strongly opposed the deal, calling it a violation of its sovereignty. In response, Somalia initially stated that Ethiopia would not be included in the new AU-led mission replacing ATMIS and bolstered military cooperation with Egypt.
However, relations have improved following diplomatic mediation by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, leading to the Ankara Declaration. This agreement paved the way for renewed security cooperation between Ethiopia and Somalia.
According to the joint statement, both countries expressed commitment to AUSSOM’s success and recognized the role of Ethiopian forces in AU peacekeeping efforts. They also agreed that Ethiopia’s engagement in Somalia will be coordinated exclusively through the Federal Government of Somalia, reaffirming Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Additionally, both sides committed to developing a Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) to regulate Ethiopian troops’ presence in Somalia, aligning with the defense cooperation agreement signed in December 2023.