Irro in Addis Ababa amid MoU uncertainty

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro has traveled to Addis Ababa for his first official visit to Ethiopia since taking office nearly a year ago. The trip comes amid ongoing uncertainty over the fate of the controversial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Somaliland and Ethiopia in early 2024.

In a statement issued in Amharic and shared by Somaliland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the visit was described as “an important step in strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.” The statement further emphasized that the trip aims to “expand collaboration in transportation, trade, security, and other shared sectors to support mutual development,” while underscoring the “deep historical ties and shared security interests” between Somaliland and Ethiopia.

At the heart of the visit lies the Somaliland–Ethiopia MoU, originally signed between former Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The deal reportedly offered Ethiopia access to the Red Sea coast, for both commercial and naval purposes, in exchange for potential recognition of Somaliland’s self-declared independence.

The announcement immediately triggered a regional diplomatic crisis. The Federal Government of Somalia, which considers Somaliland part of its sovereign territory, condemned the agreement as a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The resulting standoff led to a year-long diplomatic freeze between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa.

In late 2024, Türkiye stepped in to mediate the dispute. The Ankara Declaration, signed on December 11, 2024, following a trilateral meeting hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marked a tentative resolution. Both Ethiopia and Somalia agreed to respect each other’s territorial integrity and pursue bilateral cooperation within internationally recognized frameworks.

Speaking to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed in July 2025, Somalia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Mohamed Omar hailed the mediation as a success, stating that “the dispute is over.”

President Irro’s administration has so far maintained ambiguity regarding its position on the MoU.

In July 2025, Somaliland’s Minister of the Presidency, a close ally of Irro, remarked that “since the President has not yet approached Ethiopia, we have not had discussions on the MoU.” He added that when such talks occur, “the agreement will be discussed in detail,” but declined to confirm whether the new government intends to uphold, revise, or abandon the deal.

This uncertainty has fueled speculation about whether Irro’s visit signals a policy shift, a reaffirmation of the MoU, or an attempt to renegotiate terms with Addis Ababa under a new political framework.

President Irro’s visit notably coincides with another significant development: an unannounced trip by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to Ethiopia just days earlier. According to Villa Somalia, Mohamud’s talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed focused on “enhancing developmental cooperation based on good neighborliness, mutual respect, and shared prosperity, while upholding the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of both nations.”

For President Irro, this first trip to Addis Ababa represents an important test of his administration’s approach to the Somaliland–Ethiopia Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). With the fate of the MoU still uncertain, no clear indication has yet emerged from either Somaliland or Addis Ababa. The visit is therefore expected to help clarify the ambiguity surrounding the agreement.