The United States government welcomed the decision by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to hold an extraordinary summit to discuss Somalia and Ethiopia.
IGAD has set aside the extraordinary summit for January 18 in Uganda.
Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who is also the IGAD Chairman, convened the Ethiopia-Somalia summit.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni also agreed to host the summit.
Diplomatic relations between Somalia and Ethiopia have been hampered over the past couple of weeks.
This follows the agreement that Ethiopia signed with Somaliland in which it would recognize the latter as an independent state.
Somaliland agreed to cede control of one of its seaports to Ethiopia.
Since then, Somalia has repeatedly hit out at Ethiopia for violating its unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.
