Gulf and Middle East
Somalia and Bahrain
Somalia and Bahrain have had relations since 29 October 1972. Somalia's ambassador in Riyadh covers Bahrain; the two foreign ministers last met at the UN in September 2025. Bahrain bought US$8.6 million of Somali goods in 2023, mostly live animals, and funded a hospital and a teachers' institute in Mogadishu in 2011 and 2012. Bahrain did not sign the December 2025 joint statement against Israel's recognition of Somaliland.
How do Somalia and Bahrain relate today?
Somalia and Bahrain are both members of the Arab League and the OIC. Neither keeps a resident embassy in the other's capital; Somalia's ambassador in Riyadh is accredited to Bahrain (News of Bahrain, 22 December 2022).
The foreign ministers, Abdisalam Abdi Ali and Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, met in New York on 23 September 2025. Abdisalam congratulated Bahrain on its election to the UN Security Council for 2026–2027 (SONNA, 23 September 2025).
Bahrain is a buyer of Somali livestock. In 2023 it imported US$8.6 million of Somali goods and exported US$748,000 to Somalia (WITS, Bahrain imports; WITS, Bahrain exports).
When did contact begin?
Relations were established on 29 October 1972, according to Bahrain's foreign ministry, as cited in Wikipedia's table of Somalia's relations. In 1990 Bahrain was one of Somalia's main sources of imports, after Italy and with Norway and Britain (Library of Congress, Somalia country study).
Who are the ambassadors and envoys?
Somalia's ambassadors to Bahrain, both based in Riyadh:
- Taher Jili presented credentials to Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa in August 2016 (Goobjoog, 29 August 2016).
- Salem Mao Haji presented credentials by video link to Foreign Minister Al Zayani on 21 December 2022 (News of Bahrain, 22 December 2022).
No Bahraini ambassador to Somalia appears in the sources found.
Who built the tie?
- Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, chairman of Bahrain's Royal Charity Organisation, directed the 2011 hospital and 2012 teachers' institute projects in Somalia (PR Newswire, 28 September 2011; PR Newswire, 31 January 2012).
- Edid Ibrahim, Somalia's education minister, thanked Bahrain when the teachers' institute deal was signed (PR Newswire, 31 January 2012).
- Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Bahrain's foreign minister, received Ambassador Salem Mao Haji in 2022 and met Abdisalam Abdi Ali in 2025 (News of Bahrain; SONNA). The two also spoke by phone (Somalia MFA).
- Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, then Somalia's foreign minister, chaired the Arab ministerial group on Somalia at the Arab League in Cairo, in which Bahrain took part (Zawya, 2024).
What agreements have they signed?
- September 2011: Royal Charity Organisation contract to fund a US$1.5 million specialist hospital and a nursing school in Somalia, and US$1.2 million for ten wells with Islamic Relief (PR Newswire, 28 September 2011).
- 30 January 2012: US$1.5 million agreement with Islamic Relief Worldwide for a teachers' institute in Somalia (PR Newswire, 31 January 2012).
Which leaders have visited?
No state visits appear in the sources found. In 2024 Bahrain hosted the 33rd Arab League summit in Manama, where Somalia's prime minister Hamza Abdi Barre met Iraq's president (Garowe Online, 4 July 2024).
How much do they trade?
Bahrain's imports from Somalia (WITS):
- 2018: US$4.89 million
- 2020: US$8.03 million
- 2022: US$9.48 million
- 2023: US$8.60 million
In 2023, live animals made up US$7.94 million of these imports, and fruit and nuts US$590,000 (UN Comtrade). Bahrain's exports to Somalia were mainly dairy produce (US$564,000) (UN Comtrade).
How much aid and money has gone in?
- 2011 famine: Bahrain pledged US$3 million in emergency aid, recorded by the UN (OCHA FTS, 2011). It sent 200 tons of relief in November 2011 and funded the Bahrain Specialist Hospital in Mogadishu to restore eyesight to 1,000 people (PR Newswire, 31 January 2012).
- 2012: US$1.5 million for a teachers' institute (same source).
Somalia owes Bahrain no debt in the Ministry of Finance's end-2025 list (Ministry of Finance, FY2025 debt report).
What about security?
No Bahraini military role in Somalia appears in the sources found. See Foreign forces in Somalia.
How does Bahrain deal with Somaliland and the member states?
- 2024: Bahrain took part in the Arab ministerial group that rejected the Ethiopia–Somaliland memorandum and stated that "Somaliland is an integral part of Somalia" (Zawya).
- 28 December 2025: Bahrain, Morocco and the UAE did not sign the joint statement of 21 states and the OIC rejecting Israel's recognition of Somaliland (Radio Algérie, 28 December 2025).
No dealings between Bahrain and Somaliland or the member states appear in the sources found.
Have there been disputes?
In April 2018, during the Gulf crisis, Bahrain's foreign minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa accused Somalia of "denying and insulting" the UAE. This followed Somalia's neutrality in the Saudi–Qatar dispute and its seizure of US$9.6 million from a UAE plane in Mogadishu (Africanews, 11 April 2018).
How many Somalis live in Bahrain?
No UNHCR count of Somali refugees in Bahrain appears in its 2025 data (UNHCR population data, 2025).
Where does Bahrain stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?
Bahrain holds a UN Security Council seat for 2026–2027, overlapping Somalia's 2025–2026 term (SONNA). In the Arab League it joined the 2024 ministerial group backing Somalia's territorial integrity (Zawya).
Related pages
Sources
- News of Bahrain, 22 December 2022 · newsofbahrain.com
- SONNA, 23 September 2025 · sonna.so
- WITS, Bahrain imports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, Bahrain exports · wits.worldbank.org
- Wikipedia's table of Somalia's relations · en.wikipedia.org
- Library of Congress, Somalia country study · countrystudies.us
- Goobjoog, 29 August 2016 · en.goobjoog.com
- PR Newswire, 28 September 2011 · prnewswire.com
- PR Newswire, 31 January 2012 · prnewswire.com
- Somalia MFA · web.mfa.gov.so
- Zawya, 2024 · zawya.com
- Garowe Online, 4 July 2024 · garoweonline.com
- UN Comtrade · comtradeapi.un.org
- UN Comtrade · comtradeapi.un.org
- OCHA FTS, 2011 · api.hpc.tools
- Ministry of Finance, FY2025 debt report · mof.gov.so
- Radio Algérie, 28 December 2025 · news.radioalgerie.dz
- Africanews, 11 April 2018 · africanews.com
- UNHCR population data, 2025 · api.unhcr.org
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