Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE Somalia Government said on January 12 it is annulling all agreements with the United Arab Emirates, including port deals and defence and security cooperation, accusing the UAE of undermining its national sovereignty.
“This decision is based on credible reports and compelling evidence concerning hostile actions undermining national sovereignty, territorial unity, and the political independence of the country,” Somalia’s Council of Ministers said. The decision “applies to all agreements and partnerships relating to the ports of Berbera, Bosaso, and Kismayo … (and) bilateral security and defence cooperation agreements,” it said in a statement.
On January 12, The Middle East Eye news site reported that the diplomatic fall-out has led to the UAE evacuating its security personnel and heavy military equipment from the air base in Bosaso, a Somalian city.
The Horn of Africa country launched an investigation last week after the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said the UAE had spirited a separatist leader out of Yemen via Somalia. Somalia said at the time that if the allegation were proved true it would represent a serious violation of its sovereignty.
The UAE has also cultivated deep economic and security ties with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland. The centrepiece of this strategy is a $442 million investment by Dubaibased logistics company DP World to develop and operate the Port of Berbera in Somaliland. Last month, Israel became the first country to officially recognise Somaliland’s independence.
Somalia remains open to cooperation “founded on recognition of Somalia’s unity,” its Council of Ministers said. Through diplomatic outreach and high-level phone calls, Somalia’s Government has won the backing of key countries across Africa and the Middle East, rallying them to oppose the recognition. But one relationship has sharply deteriorated – Somalia’s longstanding partnership with the UAE.
This is not the first time diplomatic relations between Somalia and the UAE have soured. In 2018, Somalia, then under President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, severed ties with the UAE, accusing it of interference in Somalia’s internal affairs.