MOGADISHU, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday to hold discussions with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia’s presidency said, following a thaw in icy relations.

The relationship soured in January 2024 when Ethiopia announced plans to lease a stretch of coastline in Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region.

Ethiopia planned to build a naval base and commercial port in exchange for possible recognition of Somaliland’s independence.

Somalia accused Ethiopia of undermining its territorial integrity, threatened to eject its peacekeepers, and strengthened ties with Ethiopia’s arch foes Egypt and Eritrea.

Mogadishu airport was hit by at least one mortar shell shortly before Abiy’s plane landed on Thursday, despite all roads around the high security complex being closed, four local residents and media said.

The two countries agreed to resolve the dispute at talks mediated by Ankara in December, pledging to find commercial arrangements to allow landlocked Ethiopia “reliable, secure and sustainable access to and from the sea.”

They also agreed to begin technical negotiations by the end of February.

“This visit marks a significant step toward strengthening the diplomatic ties between Somalia and Ethiopia, as the two leaders are scheduled to engage in discussions on key bilateral and regional matters of mutual interest,” Somalia’s presidency posted on X.

The two men smiled as they shook hands on the airport tarmac, surrounded by people waving flags of the two neighbouring countries, according to photographs shared by the presidency.

Abiy’s trip comes a month after Mohamud visited Addis Ababa.

Somalia has been in the grip of a long-running insurgency by Islamist al-Shabaab militants who have been fighting to overthrow the fragile central government.

(Reporting by Feisal Omar; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Ammu Kannampilly and Christina Fincher)