Somaliland, UAE envoys discuss matters of mutual interest

By: Hassan Jama, Horndiplomat contributor

UAE ambassador to Ethiopia Mohamed Salem Alrashdi received the Somaliland ambassador to Ethiopia Salan Hassan Abdullah at UAE Embassy in Addis Ababa.

The two sides discussed issues of mutual interest between the two countries. according to UAE Embassy in Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Somaliland and UAE

The United Arab Emirates has listed Somaliland as the leading African country where it has the highest foreign direct investment (FDI).

According to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country’s FDI outflows for the financial year 2017/2018 amounted to US$11.52 billion dollars, US$2.58 billion going to the Persian Gulf country.

Already, UAE company Dubai Port has pumped in US$ 442 million to expand the port of Berbera which the UAE see as very strategic to them.

The Berbera port expansion is designed to equip the Somaliland port for major vessels and transform it into one of Africa’s pre-eminent facilities in the breakaway region.

UAE military base in Somaliland is also set to begin operating by June. The base will include a coastal-surveillance system.

The U.A.E. is growing its military presence in the Horn of Africa to help protect trade flows through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key shipping lane used by oil tankers and other cargo vessels en route to the Suez Canal. Emirati footholds in Somaliland and Eritrea provide strategic locations as the U.A.E. supports the Saudi Arabia-led war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

© Horn Diplomat 2019