Addis Ababa: The Ethiopian Maritime Authority (EMA) said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Ethiopia and Somaliland signed will create opportunities for the authority to accomplish its mission.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the President of Somaliland Muse Bihe Abdi signed a historic MOU in Addis Ababa on January 1, 2024, granting Ethiopia access to sea.
The MoU shall pave the way to realize the aspiration of Ethiopia to secure access to the sea and diversify its access to seaports. The deal will also strengthen the security, economic and political partnership between the two sides.
Ethiopian Maritime Authority Director General Abdulber Shemsu told ENA that there is a lot of burden on the logistics sector due to lack of sea access for shipments on board to facilitate the import and export trade of the country.
Noting Ethiopia’s cargo volume has been growing rapidly more than twice in a short period of time, he cited for example that goods worth of 20 billion US dollar are transported yearly to the coun
try.
Thus, an alternative sea port is required in line with the growing economy with quality logistics services in terms of time, efficiency and cost, he added.
Moreover, apart from reducing the high cost, the alternative sea port trade also offers greater benefits in blue economy , the director general pointed out.
It will also help to increase competitiveness in terms of export trade, especially in exporting perishable products, according to Abdulber.
He added the MoU signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland will bring about fundamental changes in import and export trade.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency