Saturday March 13, 2021
MOGADISHU (HOL) - The United Arab Emirates has deployed its first representative to Somaliland in what elevates the break-away region’s quest for international recognition.
Abdulla Alnaqbi presented his credentials to President Muse Bihi Saturday confirming the UAE’s deepening diplomatic interest with Somaliland in light of its multimillion-dollar investments in the last three years.
The Gulf country which has had frosty relations with Somalia following the naval base deal in 2017 has maintained close ties with Somaliland despite Mogadishu’s protests.
Somaliland granted UAE’s DP World a 30-year concession at the Port of Berbera in late 2016 at the cost of $442 million. This has seen the upgrade of Berbera port to rival other ports in the region and placed Somaliland in a strategic geopolitical position.
The UAE and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development Construction Company are also financing the constructing of the 250km Berbera-Ethiopia highway which terminates at the Ethiopia town of Togochale.
The move by the UAE to appoint a representative to Somaliland will likely exacerbate the already fragile relations between Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi.