Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed today, January 31, 2026, hosted President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia in the town of Jigjiga, Ethiopia.
The leaders were in Jigjiga for the inauguration of the Shebelay Tourist Resort the first such resort in Ethiopia’s Somali region.
This meeting comes just weeks after Prime Minister Abiy visited Djibouti to discuss trade, logistics, and bilateral cooperation with President Guelleh.
The leaders’ meeting also followed a recognition of breakaway Somaliland by Israel on December 26, 2025, which has unsettled alliances in the Red Sea region. This recognition has divided Arab nations, which are traditionally staunch supporters of Somali sovereignty over Somaliland.
While countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt have been at the forefront of condemning the recognition, powerful gulf state-the UAE has remained conspicuously reticent. Back in January 2024, the Ethiopian government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland, igniting anger from Somalia.
Under that agreement, Ethiopia considered recognizing Somaliland in exchange for a 50-year lease of a coastal area for military and commercial activities.
Negotiations facilitated by Turkey managed to smooth tensions between the countries, leading the leaders to pay reciprocal visits.
Djibouti showed its Support to Somalia’s Sovereignty by expelling Somaliland’s diplomats, but Ethiopia did not take any stance so far. It appears that Ethiopia currently finds itself in a complicated situation, as it has not yet officially endorsed or condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.
