Addis Abeba — Ethiopia has appointed a new ambassador to Somalia, nearly ten months after diplomatic tensions led to a freeze in ambassadorial-level relations between the two countries.
Somalia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdisalam Abdi Ali, received a copy of the credentials of Ethiopia's newly appointed Ambassador to Somalia, Suleiman Dedefo Woshe, during a ceremony held Monday at the Ministry's headquarters in Mogadishu.
The Minister welcomed the ambassador and underscored the importance of strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing cooperation between the two neighboring countries.
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The appointment comes after a sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations when, in October 2024, when Somalia declared an Ethiopian diplomat persona non grata for allegedly engaging in activities "inconsistent with his diplomatic role." The diplomat, Ali Mohamed Adan, was ordered to leave the country within 72 hours. Citing violations of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Somalia accused him of breaching Articles 41 and 42, which prohibit foreign diplomats from interfering in a host nation's internal affairs.
Prior to that, Somalia also expelled Ethiopia's then-ambassador Muktar Mohamed Ware and recalled its own ambassador from Addis Abeba.
These moves followed heightened tensions over a now-dormant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in January 2024 between Ethiopia and Somaliland, under which Ethiopia sought access to the sea in exchange for potential recognition of the self-declared republic, an agreement Somalia called a breach of its sovereignty.
Attempts to defuse the tensions, most notably a Turkish-brokered dialogue initiative, culminated in the "Ankara Declaration" in December 2024.
But the talks have since stalled with reports claiming expert-level follow-up meetings held in February 2025 failed to resolve key disagreements over maritime access and recognition, and no further sessions have been scheduled since April.
