Somalia cancels UAE agreements over sovereignty concerns

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has announced that his government has cancelled all agreements with the United Arab Emirates, accusing the Gulf state of failing to respect Somalia’s sovereignty and unity.

In a televised address, Mohamud said the federal cabinet decided to terminate agreements covering economic infrastructure, security and defence. He stressed that while relations with the UAE had initially been based on good faith, Abu Dhabi did not engage Somalia as a single, unified state.

“The UAE did not treat us as a single, unified government with sovereignty and independence,” Mohamud said. “We repeatedly requested that they engage with us as one unified Somali government, but this did not happen.”

The president went further, accusing the UAE of bypassing the federal authorities and interfering in Somalia’s internal affairs.

“They even engaged in illegal activities within the country by circumventing the federal government,” he added, saying some actions were carried out without Mogadishu’s full knowledge.

The move comes amid heightened regional tensions following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, the breakaway territory Somalia considers part of its sovereign land. The UAE has long invested in Somaliland’s Berbera port, and the development has intensified concerns in Mogadishu about foreign involvement in domestic affairs.

Despite the federal government’s decision, at least three Somali regions have publicly rejected severing ties with the UAE, underlining ongoing divisions within the country over foreign partnerships.

Somalia’s leadership insists the cancellations are necessary to defend national sovereignty, as power rivalries in the Horn of Africa continue to draw in regional and international actors.