Finland suspends development cooperation with Somalia over refusal to accept repatriation of citizens

By: Yle 

Finland is suspending its bilateral development cooperation programme with Somalia.

Finland Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio (Finns) made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday.

He cited the government programme, according to which Finland’s development cooperation is conditional on countries’ agreement to repatriate their own citizens at Finland’s request and their support for the international rules-based order.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cooperation with Somalia on repatriation has not progressed as hoped.

“The suspension means that no new funding decisions will be made until concrete progress has been made in repatriation cooperation with Somalia,” Tavio stated.

According to Tavio, repatriation cooperation refers to Somali citizens who do not have Finnish residence permits.

Tavio declined to say how many Somali citizens face such expulsions from Finland.

No impact on humanitarian aid or NGOs

Ongoing development projects will be completed in accordance with agreements, officials said at the press conference. The suspension does not apply to humanitarian aid, non-governmental organisations or private-sector support.

As of next year, 8–9 million euros per year had been set aside for bilateral development cooperation between Finland and Somalia.

According to Tavio, bilateral relations between Finland and Somalia are otherwise good.

Tavio expressed the hope that cooperation with Somalia would improve so that repatriation could be supported through development cooperation.

“Return cooperation has not reached a sufficient level. States must naturally strive to ensure that all those illegally in their country are returned, when that can be done safely,” the minister said.