Kenya Offers Treaty To Reduce Tensions Between Somalia And Ethiopia

EXCERPT: By putting out a treaty, Kenya has intervened as a mediator to reduce the hostilities between Ethiopia and Somalia.

On Thursday, Kenya proposed a regional maritime convention with the goal of reducing hostilities between Ethiopia and Somalia.

Ethiopia signed a lease deal to lease a portion of its coastline with the breakaway territory of Somaliland in January. This action infuriated Somalia and increased unrest in the area.

As Somalia closed Ethiopia’s consulates in Puntland and Somaliland and expelled Ethiopia’s ambassador, tensions surfaced in the first few days of April.

Kenya, Djibouti, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) collaborated to create the convention that governs landlocked governments’ port access.

Somalia and Ethiopia are examining the proposal, seeking a diplomatic solution, according to Kenya’s principal secretary for foreign affairs, Korir Sing’oei. He also added that the treaty would be a means of ensuring stability in the region.

It comes after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia met with President William Ruto of Kenya on Thursday in Nairobi in an attempt to settle the conflict.