KAMPALA, Uganda – The US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, arrived in Kampala on Wednesday to attend the 42nd extraordinary summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc of eight countries in East Africa.
The summit, convened by Djibouti’s President and IGAD Chairperson Ismail Omar Guelleh, is expected to address the escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia over a controversial deal that Ethiopia signed with Somaliland, a regional administration of Somalia.
The deal, which grants Ethiopia access to a 20-kilometre coastal strip in Somaliland for a commercial port and a military base in exchange for Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland’s sovereignty, has been strongly rejected by the Somali government, which considers it a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The US government has welcomed the diplomatic initiative of IGAD and reiterated its support for Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its 1960 borders. The US has also called for de-escalation and dialogue between Ethiopia and Somalia to resolve their differences peacefully.
The IGAD summit comes amid growing regional instability and humanitarian crises, as Ethiopia faces a civil war in its northern Tigray region, Sudan struggles with a political transition and economic challenges, and Somalia prepares for delayed elections and faces security threats from the militant group Al-Shabaab.
