No word on UAE naval base deal as President returns from Abu Dhabi

The government has remained tight lipped over the controversial naval base deal as the president returned from a three days official visit to UAE but a statement from the foreign ministry said the Persian Gulf country ‘respected the sovereignty and unity of the Somali people.’

The Foreign Affairs ministry said President Mohamed Farmaajo and his host the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed discussed a range of bilateral issues among them security, counter-terrorism, economy and migration.

It is not clear if the President raised the naval base issue with the UAE authorities but in his visit to Saudi Arabia last month, Farmaajo was reported to have sought support from the Kingdom to talk down the Emirati government to drop the deal.

Back home, lawmakers have insisted the government must come clean on the matter which is now a subject of online debate among Somalis. Somalis on twitter have been pushing for a word from the government while calling on the UAE to abandon the naval base deal in Somaliland.

Outspoken MP Dahir Amin Jeeso told Goobjoog News the lawmakers are still determined to bring the motion on the naval base deal for debate before the house goes for recess later this month.

“The House is still busy with the formation of business committees but hopefully in the next few days we should have the motion on the order paper before we go on recess. We stand by our motion and maintain the same position,” said Jeeso. The House will be closing business for recess on April 27.

In a motion distributed last week but not listed on the order paper, 20 MPs demanded to know what the government knows about the deal warning the building of a military base in Somali soil was not only tantamount to security risks but also a violation of the country’s sovereignty.