Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — Somalia’s decision to annul all agreements with the United Arab Emirates was a necessary and lawful assertion of national sovereignty, constitutional order and unity, a senior government official said, rejecting claims that the move was abrupt or destabilising.
Somalia’s cabinet approved the annulment on January 12, following years of what Mogadishu described as strained relations with Abu Dhabi over security cooperation and port operations involving Somalia’s federal member states.
Writing in an opinion article published by Al Jazeera English, Ali Omar, Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, said the government acted after “prolonged restraint” and repeated diplomatic engagement failed to address what he described as unconstitutional foreign dealings.
“The Somali government’s patience was not infinite nor unconditional,” Omar wrote, arguing that cooperation with external partners becomes “illegal interference” when it bypasses recognised federal institutions and fragments national authority.
Ports and authority
At the heart of the dispute are UAE-linked security and port arrangements in Berbera, Bosaso and Kismayo — strategic facilities in Somaliland, Puntland and Jubaland, respectively — which Mogadishu says lacked federal consent.
Somali officials have also cited allegations that a UAE-operated aircraft transited Mogadishu, carrying Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, before flying him to Abu Dhabi, a development that intensified tensions over the use of Somali airspace and national sovereignty.
Al-Zubaidi’s departure came amid fraying relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Yemen’s civil conflict, with Riyadh accusing Abu Dhabi of facilitating his extraction in ways that undermined coalition coordination.
Omar said sovereignty requires that political, security, and economic relations with foreign states flow exclusively through national institutions, warning that parallel agreements with sub-national authorities gradually erode state integrity.
“When security cooperation operates outside federal oversight or port arrangements dilute national control over strategic assets, they undermine the constitutional order,” he said.
Somalia’s government maintains that the annulment does not represent a rejection of international engagement, but instead demands that cooperation take place on “transparent, state-to-state terms” consistent with international law.
Critics of the move have warned that cancelling the agreements could disrupt security and trade, particularly in port-dependent regions. Omar dismissed those concerns as short-term thinking that misunderstands state-building.
“Fragile states do not become stable by tolerating fragmented authority driven by external interests,” he wrote, adding that long-term stability depends on consolidated institutions and clear chains of command.
He said the government put mechanisms in place to ensure continuity in port operations and security responsibilities, including the use of neutral international operators where necessary, though he did not provide details.
Regional stakes
The dispute unfolds amid heightened geopolitical competition across the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the wider Horn of Africa, where ports and security partnerships have become strategic assets.
The UAE’s longstanding engagements in the region have at times competed with other Gulf states and influenced local politics, adding complexity to Mogadishu’s sovereignty concerns.
Several self-governing regions — including Somaliland, Puntland and Jubaland — have publicly rejected Mogadishu’s annulment and signalled they will maintain existing cooperation with the UAE, underscoring internal federal tensions.
Omar warned that using Somali territory to advance external agendas posed risks not only to Somalia but also to regional trade and stability, framing a unified Somali state as a “regional and global asset.”
“For too long, others have treated Somalia as an object of regional politics rather than as a subject of international law,” he wrote.
The cabinet decision marks one of the strongest assertions of federal authority since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud returned to office in 2022, as Mogadishu seeks to reassert control over foreign policy, defence and strategic infrastructure.
Somalia’s government says dialogue with the UAE remains possible, but only within constitutional boundaries. “Engagement is welcome,” Omar wrote, “but principles are not negotiable.”
