Somaliland to pick Berbera port partner by end of year

May 27 Somaliland expects to choose a partner to develop and manage its Berbera port by the end of the year, with construction expected to start early next year, the breakaway territory's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Mohamed Behi Yonis said the state, which broke away from Somalia in 1991 but is not internationally recognized, was in talks with France's Bollore, the Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company and Dubai's DP World.

"Those are the three major port management companies that are interested in developing the port. We have been discussing with all of them," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an African Development Bank meeting in Ivory Coast.

"We have not made up our minds. We're looking at all options," he added.

Yonis said the port was expected to become a major transit hub for goods entering and leaving the Horn of Africa and particularly Somaliland's landlocked but economically thriving neighbour Ethiopia.

Ethiopia lost its direct access to the sea in 1993 when Eritrea gained independence following a three-decade civil war. It is currently heavily dependent on the port of Djibouti.

"They don't want all their eggs in one basket," Yonis said, adding that Somaliland had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ethiopian government to ease access to the port. 

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Yemen's war displaced flood into Somaliland

Berbera, Somaliland - In a temporary shelter made of corrugated iron and timber poles sit about 70 people, mostly women and children, hiding from the blistering mid-afternoon sun as hot, humid air blows in from the Red Sea.

They have come to the port town of Berbera in Somalia's breakaway Somaliland region to seek a respite from the Saudi Arabian-led air strikes in Yemen. They are part of a stream of people who arrived by boat with thousands having landed at ports across the Horn of Africa region since the attacks began in late March.

With no aid agencies to welcome them, most have simply blended into the population.

Ahmed Hassan Hashi used the last bit of money he had to pay for the journey from Yemen to Berbera. It took him more than two days to cross the busy shipping lane to reach the Somali coast, the toll the journey took on his fragile body all too visible.

Heavy fighting between Shia rebels and coalition forces forced him out of his home in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, where he had lived for the past 12 years. Read Full Article

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Somaliland’s resolve for recognition

They call themselves the de facto Independence Republic of Somaliland, but the rest of the world calls them the self-declared independent, autonomous region of Somalia. And, it has been this way for past 24 years.

To their credit Somaliland has a well-functioning government, organized security apparatus budding infrastructure and a growing economy. Granted a lot has to improve, Somaliland has now thriving diplomatic and trade relationship with its closest neighbors Ethiopia, Djibouti and few other African nations. The EU and its former protectorate the UK also maintain ties with this tiny nation of 3.5 million. 24 years after its separation from Somalia, Somalilanders feel that they are inching towards international recognition, writes Asrat Seyoum.

The year 1960 was the golden year for most African countries that were under colonial rule. It was the year that most of them got their independence and many of these nations commemorate their independence day every year. The small self-proclaimed independent nation of Somaliland is among their fellow Africans in gaining their independence from the British protectorate in the year 1960. And they are very serious about their independence day—18th May. Read Full Article