By M.A Egge
The Chairman of the Academy of Peace and Development of the Republic of Somaliland, Mohamed Farah Hirsi, said that the historic agreement signed by the Governments of Somaliland and Ethiopia in Addis Ababa is of great benefit to the country and it will get what it has been pursued for three decades.
He urged the Somaliland community to support this agreement and said, “This preliminary agreement shows and defines and highlights that the two governments of Ethiopia and Somaliland have a lot in common”.
He continued, “There is no country that gives something freely but something is exchanged in reciprocity as concerns socio or socio-economic, security and political stability there ought to be collaborations in cooperating in various aspect”.
He added, “We need to define and clarify this agreement and let our Somaliland people understand it. This agreement is a preliminary agreement, and it is an agreement that will enable Somaliland to get what it has been searching for thirty-three years, which is to be a recognized sovereign country amongst equals in the international community”.
He explained while posing a query, “Ethiopia, according to the agreement, will be the first country to recognize the Republic of Somaliland, and the President said, we will lease a part of one of our oceans. How is this agreement different from the one we leased to DP Word, the legal system military base that we leased to the United Arab Emirates and what is different from our neighboring country of Djibouti which has leased military bases to dozens of countries?”
The APD chairman noted further, “This agreement will promote the development and economic growth of Somaliland, because of our coastline which is more than nine hundred kilometers, and over-looking the most important waterway in the world, Babul-Mandab, which connects to the Suez Canal where 12% of the world’s economy passes, is the opening of the economy, as both the economy of Ethiopia and that of Somaliland are dependent on each other”.
He underscored that the APD being a think-tank who has delved deeply on the matter over time; they vouch for the fact that its recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state is enough to set the ball rolling for the success of this nation.