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UAE military base: Hargeisa keeps trying to persuade neighbors
President of the ruling Kulmiye party, Musa Bihi Abdi, has been unsparing in his efforts to win the approval of Somaliland’s neighbors for the construction of a United Arab Emirates military base at Berbera.
On Feb. 10 he first attempted to reassure Ethiopia’s prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, by saying the base would be leased exclusively to the Emiratis and that they wouldn’t be allowed to sub-lease all or part of it to Egyptians (ION 1445).
In mid-March, the Ethiopians, who are essentially Somaliland's development partner, finally gave their green light to construction of the base but on one condition: that the UAE agrees to close its base at Assab in Eritrea (ION 1432). On March 13, Abdi flew to Nairobi where he met with Western envoys but also with Somali's president, Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajor to ask for his blessings for the Emirati base in Berbera.
A few days later, Somaliland’s former foreign affairs minister, Mohamed Abdillahi Omar, turned up in Mogadishu to prepare for negotiations with Hargeisa. Elsewhere, the Somaliland government claims to have signed an agreement with the UAE on March 19 but our sources say that might have been premature as no Emirati government official signed the document.
https://www.africaintelligence.com/...ps-trying-to-persuade-neighbors,108227398-ART
President of the ruling Kulmiye party, Musa Bihi Abdi, has been unsparing in his efforts to win the approval of Somaliland’s neighbors for the construction of a United Arab Emirates military base at Berbera.
On Feb. 10 he first attempted to reassure Ethiopia’s prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, by saying the base would be leased exclusively to the Emiratis and that they wouldn’t be allowed to sub-lease all or part of it to Egyptians (ION 1445).
In mid-March, the Ethiopians, who are essentially Somaliland's development partner, finally gave their green light to construction of the base but on one condition: that the UAE agrees to close its base at Assab in Eritrea (ION 1432). On March 13, Abdi flew to Nairobi where he met with Western envoys but also with Somali's president, Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajor to ask for his blessings for the Emirati base in Berbera.
A few days later, Somaliland’s former foreign affairs minister, Mohamed Abdillahi Omar, turned up in Mogadishu to prepare for negotiations with Hargeisa. Elsewhere, the Somaliland government claims to have signed an agreement with the UAE on March 19 but our sources say that might have been premature as no Emirati government official signed the document.
https://www.africaintelligence.com/...ps-trying-to-persuade-neighbors,108227398-ART
