Somalia rubbishes UAE claims of existing MoU on Berbera port deal

Somalia has dismissed claims by UAE that the two countries previously entered into an agreement regarding the Berbera port concession.

Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmed Awad said in a television interview Friday the Federal Government was yet to see or receive any agreement or contract adding, “Somalia would not have raised complaints had there been an agreement’.

“We do not have any contract. If there was any contract or agreement in the name of Somali government then we would not have filed any complaints and Somalia would have respected it,” Awad said.

The minister’s remarks follows statement by UAE state minister Anwar Gargash that both countries had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on development and humanitarian support in Somaliland.

“We had a memorandum of understanding with the former government and it was very clear,” said Gargash. “We did not have a consulate or embassy in Somaliland so there was no formal relationship.”

But Awad took a different view during the media interview distancing the Federal Government from any deal prior deal with the Emirati government. “UAE has not shown us any contract that they have entered into with the Federal Government.”

“The state minister (Gargash) said there is an MOU. An MOU can take different forms; it can it include a verbal agreement between two people,” said Awad, adding, “If there is any contract or MOU, we are still waiting.”

Somaliland has maintained on the other hand that it signed the agreements with UAE on its own volition and that it did not need to consult the Federal Government.

In a separate interview with Reuters, Awad called on the UAE’s ports operator DP World to reconsider the concession agreement.

“We are asking DP World to reconsider these agreements, particularly the one in Berbera port since Somaliland is claiming to be a state independent from Somalia,” Awad said.

Amidst the tug of war between the two foreign ministers, DP World said Friday construction in Berbera and Bosaso were on course.

“Both Puntland and Somaliland have urged DP World to expedite construction,” a DP World spokesman quoted by Reuters said.

P&PO Ports, a subsidiary of the state owned DP World acquired a 30 year concession in Puntland’s Bosaso port last year valued at $336 million.

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