By: Mohamed Duale
BERBERA, Somaliland — A high-level Ethiopian delegation on Monday visited Somaliland’s Berbera Port and the adjacent Berbera Economic Free Zone as part of efforts to strengthen trade, investment and economic cooperation between the two sides, officials said.
The delegation, comprising senior federal and regional officials from Ethiopia, was led by Keninsa Lemi, secretary-general of Ethiopia’s Federal Chamber of Commerce. It included deputy ministers responsible for investment, transport and trade from Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State, as well as presidents of chambers of commerce from the Somali, Tigray, Oromia, Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions.
The officials arrived in Somaliland on Sunday and began the second day of their working visit on Monday in the strategic port city of Berbera, where they toured port facilities, customs operations and key transport and logistics infrastructure.
Somaliland’s Director-General at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Mohamed Hasan Saleban, accompanied the delegation and briefed them on recent reforms aimed at improving port services, customs clearance and trade facilitation. He highlighted the role of Berbera Port and the free zone in supporting economic growth and expanding regional trade.
At the port and free zone, the delegation was received by senior officials from the Berbera Free Zone Authority, the Somaliland Ports Authority, customs officials at Berbera Port and representatives of DP World, which operates and is expanding the port.
