Somaliland has handed Ethiopia's navy a stretch of coastline on the Gulf of Aden under a 50-year lease, according to Arab News, which presents the arrangement as an example of how maritime concessions can be used to extract sovereign trade-offs.
The outlet reports that the lease was reached after two years of diplomatic wrangling that began with a memorandum of understanding in January 2024. It is one of a set of maritime concession agreements scheduled to come into effect in 2026.
In return for the coastal territory, Somaliland was given a promise of formal diplomatic recognition, according to the report.
Arab News describes the agreements as "a new form of colonialism cloaked in the guise of commercial investment," and says the structural manipulation at issue centres on the 50-year lease.
