MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said his government has terminated all agreements with the United Arab Emirates after concluding they posed a threat to the country’s nationhood and sovereignty, accusing Abu Dhabi of failing to respect Somalia’s unity.
“I want to make it clear to the Somali people that we had a good relationship with the government of the United Arab Emirates, which we, on our side, entered into in good faith and with sincerity. Unfortunately, the UAE government did not treat us as a single, independent government,” President Mohamud said in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday.
The president said his administration had repeatedly urged the UAE to respect Somalia’s unity and sovereignty, but that Abu Dhabi had ignored those requests by bypassing the federal government and engaging directly with regional administrations.
He accused the UAE of entering Somalia “through many doors”, dealing with regions independently, and at times undertaking actions the federal government was not even aware of – moves he said violated Somalia’s independence, unity, dignity and sovereignty.
President Mohamud said that despite these alleged violations, his government had exercised restraint and given the UAE many chances, choosing not to rush into punitive measures.
He explained that Monday’s decision to terminate all agreements – including port, security and defence deals – followed what he described as a long and thorough deliberation, taken only after the government concluded the agreements posed a grave risk to the country’s very existence.
Somalia, he said, maintains relations with countries around the world on the basis of mutual respect and cooperation, but any agreement deemed to undermine national unity and sovereignty would be cancelled.
The president stressed that the move was aimed at safeguarding the country rather than placing additional burdens on the Somali people, in remarks that appeared designed to calm concerns raised by some regional states.
The decision was swiftly rejected by the regional administrations of Puntland, Jubaland and Somaliland, which said it was null and void and would not take effect in their territories. They argued that the federal government lacks the authority and jurisdiction to cancel the agreements.
However, the move was welcomed by several figures within Somalia’s political elite, including former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who described it as a step towards progress and the protection of the country’s future.
Relations between Somalia and the UAE have deteriorated sharply since Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, with authorities in Mogadishu suspecting Abu Dhabi of playing a role in the decision and lobbying other countries to follow suit.
Tensions were further heightened by reports that the UAE helped facilitate the escape of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council separatist leader, Aidarous Al Zoubaidi, through Somali territory and airspace. Al Zoubaidi skipped scheduled Saudi-brokered talks in Riyadh aimed at reaching a lasting solution to Yemen’s crisis.
Somalia has since come under intense pressure from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, prompting Mogadishu to ban all UAE military and cargo flights last week.
The UAE violated that ban at least twice, on Friday and Saturday. Those alleged breaches on Monday prompted the decision to completely cancel all agreements permitting UAE presence and movement on Somali soil and in its airspace.
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