UAE replaces its long-serving ambassador in Somalia as ties improve

Days after his election, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited the United Arab Emirates in June to repair the relations broken by Farmajo, who was accused of failing foreign policy.

News Keydmedia Online
22 September 2022

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - The United Arab Emirates [UAE] has replaced its long-serving ambassador to Somalia, Mohamed Ahmed Al-Othman, and appointed his successor on Thursday.

The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that Ahmad Juma Al Rumaithi will take over the diplomatic mission in Mogadishu, replacing Al-Othman who has been in office since 2012.

The appointment is part of a wider diplomatic reshuffle in countries that are friendly with the UAE, including India, Germany, Bangladesh, Finland, Nepal, Poland, Costa Rica, Ireland, Georgia, Jordan, and Yemen.

Somalia and the UAE have a long diplomatic relationship. However, the ties deteriorated when the UAE signed an agreement in 2016 to develop and operate the Berbera Port in Somaliland, which led to the seizure of $9.6 million cash from an Emirati aircraft in Mogadishu in April 2018 by NISA.

This seizure of the money fueled the diplomatic tension between the two countries during Farmajo's leadership with Abu Dhabi disbanding all training missions of the Somali troops in Mogadishu.

Ahead of the presidential election on May 15, former Prime Minister of Somalia Mohamed Hussein Roble flew to Dubai to apologize to the UAE government for the seizure of the money which was released from the central bank in Mogadishu later.

Days after his election, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited the United Arab Emirates in June to repair the relations broken by Farmajo, who was accused of failing foreign policy.

Qatar, which is a rival of the UAE has meddled extensively in the internal affairs of the country through Fahad Yasin, a former Al-Jazeera journalist who was an influential figure in Farmajo's regime.

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