Hiiraan Online
Sunday March 5, 2017
Mogadishu (HOL) - The UAE Ambassador to Somalia has been recalled to Abu Dhabi partly in protest of Mogadishu’s demand that the base deal that was signed with the Somaliland be halted.
Various reports indicate that the ambassador Mohammed Al Hammadi arrived in Dubai on Saturday after receiving instructions to do so by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Last week, Somali President visited Saudi Arabia on his first official state visit and the UAE-Somaliland base deal was one of the items on the agenda. President Farmajo lobbied the Saudi’s to persuade the UAE not to go forward with the deal.
On February 12th, the Somaliland Parliament voted to allow the construction of a base in Berbera. Somalia objected almost immediately terming the conditions of the deal illegal and corrupt.
Somaliland is a self-declared state that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.