UAE welcomes Somali apology, signalling an easing of disputes

The United Arab Emirates late Tuesday welcomed the prime minister of Somalia's public apology for a Somali operation in 2018 that resulted in the seizure of Emirati aircraft and $9.6 million in cash, wrecking relations between the nations.

The Emirati foreign ministry thanked Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble for his “initiative” to settle the dispute, which prompted the UAE to end a military training mission in Somalia that had helped the conflict-ravaged nation rebuild after decades of chaos.

Somalia's apology “reflects the depth of the historical relations" between the nations and “appreciation for the UAE’s purposeful role in supporting the Somali people and their government,” the Emirates' state-run WAM news agency said.

In a dramatic incident in April 2018, Somali agents boarded an Emirati airplane at the Mogadishu airport, held Emirati soldiers at gunpoint and made off with bags of cash that the country's security services claimed were undeclared US dollars. The UAE said the funds had been flown in to pay salaries of Somali soldiers and provide other aid.

#UAE is back to supporting Somalia after fallout from the outgoing regime.

UAE has promised military support in the fight against terrorism as well as strengthening ties between the two brotherly nations.

Congrats PM Roble for your strive to restore long awaited diplomatic ties pic.twitter.com/mTM7j9gWte

— Ahmed Abdullahi (@AhmedAbdullahi_) February 2, 2022

Last month as the UAE dispatched planeloads of humanitarian aid to drought-stricken Somalia, Roble offered a formal apology to the Emirati government for the confiscation of the $9.6 million. He promised Somalia would return the seized funds “as soon as possible.”

“A new dawn of normalising relations,” Roble tweeted at the time. “After a period of cold relations, Somalia & UAE are now on a progressive path to solve their differences & resume the brotherly ties."

The row came as the UAE, along with three other Arab states, broke ties with Qatar, claiming the state supported terrorism. The ensuing political rivalry was deeply felt in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa, where wealthy Gulf Arab sheikhdoms have poured millions of dollars and vied for power and profits in recent years.

Somalia’s federal government had remained neutral in Gulf's diplomatic crisis, with many suspecting Mogadishu’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was aligned with Qatar despite intense Saudi and Emirati pressure to denounce Doha. The embargo officially ended a year ago as Saudi Arabia led regional efforts at reconciliation.

Even as Prime Minister Roble pledged to hand over the money to the Emirates earlier this year, President Mohamed ordered the central bank against releasing the $9.6 million “due to its illegal entry into our nation,” his spokesman said in a statement last month. A wider political dispute between the leaders has threatened to further destabilise the troubled African nation.

Somalia is led by a federal government that tries to wield power over regional states. Despite Mogadishu's official neutrality, the federal states had declared support for the UAE and Saudi Arabia in their boycott of Qatar.

The Emirates has invested heavily in infrastructure in Somalia’s breakaway territory of Somaliland, with Dubai-owned DP World port operator running a major port in the area.