Somalia cancels all agreements with UAE over alleged sovereignty violations

Somalia has severed all agreements with the United Arab Emirates, annulling deals spanning key port operations, security cooperation and defence, citing “harmful actions” that undermine the country’s unity and sovereignty.

After the Council of Ministers announced the decision on Monday, Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi said in a post on X that the move was based on “reliable reports and evidence indicating practices linked to the United Arab Emirates that undermine the sovereignty of the Somali Republic, its national unity and political independence”.

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There was no immediate comment from the UAE.

Somalia’s announcement appears to be linked to Israel’s recognition in December of Somaliland, a self-declared independent region in northwestern Somalia that broke away in 1991 but lacks international recognition, said Abdinor Dahir, an independent Somalia analyst.

“Many Somalis believe the UAE facilitated Israel’s recognition of Somaliland,” Dahir told Al Jazeera.

“The Somali cabinet’s decision [to cancel agreements] is therefore widely seen as a pushback against the UAE, which is accused of backing non-state actors and separatist forces in Africa, including the [paramilitary] RSF in Sudan,” Dahir said.

Abu Dhabi has long denied accusations that it is arming the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in its war with Sudan’s military rulers.

While the UAE declined to sign a joint Arab-Islamic statement in December condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, on January 7 it released a joint statement with the African Union pledging “support for Somalia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and stability”.

Somaliland, which has declared independence from Somalia, has over the past decade emerged as a key hub for Emirati commercial and security investment, including a 30-year concession at the strategic Berbera port held by the UAE company DP World.

A government source close to the decision told Al Jazeera there was anger in Mogadishu at the UAE consolidating influence in Somalia’s breakaway and autonomous regions.

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a US-based think tank, estimates UAE investments across East Africa at roughly $47bn, representing 60 percent of all Gulf capital inflows into the region.

Somalia’s move also comes days after reports that Aidarous al-Zubaidi, leader of the south Yemeni separatist group the Southern Transitional Council, travelled to the UAE via Berbera port in Somaliland on January 8 after rejecting Saudi calls to attend talks in Riyadh.

Somalia’s immigration authority subsequently announced an investigation into what it described as the “unauthorised use of Somalia’s national airspace and airports”.

Somalia operates a federal system that grants member states significant autonomy, so it is not clear if they will abide by Monday’s decision.

Two states, Puntland and Jubaland, which have close ties to the UAE, have recently been in a dispute with the federal government over constitutional changes they oppose and issues surrounding the conduct of Somalia’s upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, Somaliland’s Minister of the Presidency Khadar Hussein Abdi dismissed Mogadishu’s authority.

“Somalia’s daydreaming changes nothing,” he said.

“The UAE is a trusted friend of Somaliland. They invested in Berbera when others doubted us. We are a nation of principles, and we stand by our friends.”