Erdoğan to visit Ethiopia, Somalia in early 2025

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in remarks aired on Dec. 15 that he will visit Ethiopia and Somalia in the first two months of next year.

On the heels of a landmark accord, brokered by Türkiye, that ended nearly a year of tensions between the two African nations on maritime access to the Red Sea, Erdoğan said the breakthrough came after "a meeting that lasted seven hours."

"Thanks to their cooperation, we signed [the deal] and we finished the job," Erdoğan said at an event with young people in the eastern city of Erzurum.

"We went to our press conference room and announced it to the world. I told them, 'God willing, I will visit Ethiopia and Somalia in the first two months of next year and we will announce this step we have taken to the world.'"

After meeting with Erdoğan in the capital Ankara on Dec. 11, the leaders of Somalia and Ethiopia in a joint statement called the Ankara Declaration "reaffirmed their respect and commitment to one another's sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity."

Upon a question about Türkiye's role in the signing of the declaration, Erdoğan explained that Ankara's strong relations with both sides had allowed it to make progress with mediation efforts where others could not.

"This problem between Somalia and Ethiopia has been going on for many years. Ethiopia is a huge place, twice the size of Somalia, but it is landlocked," he said.

"The fact that a place with such a large and gigantic land is landlocked seriously disturbs them. Many countries have been involved in this issue until today, but they have not been able to solve this issue."

Noting his "special rapport" with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Erdoğan said this had allowed them to discuss the...