UAE and Somalia mend ties, promise to resume bilateral relations

GOOBJOOG NEWS/ABU DHABI: The Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mohamed Hussein Roble, met Monday with the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid in Dubai.

In a statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister, Mohamed Roble said he had the honor to meet with the Ruler of Dubai and “discussed regional developments and strengthening bilateral relations, especially with regard to trade, economic partnerships, facilitating travel between the two countries and a number of issues of common interest”.

The Ruler of Dubai expressed the Arab nation’s commitment to further the relations between the two countries in terms of trade, economic development, aid and other vital sectors, while striving to uphold mutual interests between the two nations.

Prime Minister Roble thanked his UAE counterpart for his government’s contribution to the relief efforts for the Somali people affected by the drought. 

Roble’s visit came after relations between the two countries were recently restored since the Somali government seized $9.6 million on April 8, 2018 that arrived at Mogadishu Airport from Abu Dhabi. The Somali Prime repaired the frosty relations by promising to return the money to the UAE, saying the money was still in the hands of Somali government.