Tuesday May 4, 2021
Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo received credentials from the incoming Ethiopian Ambassador to Somalia Abdulfatah Abdullahi Hassan on Monday.
Abdulfatah Abdullahi Hassan will replace Jamaluddin Mustafa Omar, who has served as the Ethiopian ambassador since May 2017.
The newly appointed ambassador said he shared a message of warm greetings from the President of Ethiopia, Ms. Sahle-Work Zewde, thanking the people and government of Somalia for the reception.
Amb. Abdullahi added that the Ethiopian government is committed to strengthening relations with Somalia based on mutual respect and stressed the importance of safeguarding each country's sovereignty.
President Farmajo is widely regarded as an ally of Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed - who has also drawn the ire of the international community in recent months - and has worked closely with one another throughout their tenure. Many analysts noted that the two East African leaders have a common goal in pushing back against regionalism in the Horn. Ethiopia has provided support to Somalia's federal government in its aggressive interference in the regional member states.
Ethiopian state media reports that the new ambassador met with Somalia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Mohamed Abdirizak, shortly after presenting his credentials.