# Somalia and Saudi Arabia > Somalia and Saudi Arabia: relations since 1960, the livestock trade, aid, the 2013–2014 deportations, the 2016 break with Iran and the 2026 military pact. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/relations/saudi-arabia/ Last checked: 2026-11-13 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## How do Somalia and Saudi Arabia relate today? Saudi Arabia is one of Somalia's three main export markets, with the UAE and [Oman](/en/diaspora/oman/). Live animals are the main export, and sales peak before the Hajj and Eid al-Adha ([Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)). Saudi Arabia bought Somali goods worth US$282.6 million in 2023 ([WITS, World Bank](https://wits.worldbank.org/API/V1/SDMX/V21/datasource/tradestats-trade/reporter/SAU/year/2023/partner/SOM/product/Total/indicator/MPRT-TRD-VL)). On 9 February 2026 Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi and Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman signed a memorandum on military cooperation in Riyadh ([Al Jazeera, 10 February 2026](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/somalia-saudi-arabia-sign-agreement-on-military-cooperation)). The Saudi government reported US$34.8 million of humanitarian funding to Somalia in 2025, the most of any Gulf government ([UN OCHA Financial Tracking Service, 2025](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2025&groupby=organization)). ## When did contact begin? Somalia's foreign ministry listed 17 December 1960 as the date relations were established with Saudi Arabia ([en.wikipedia.org, Foreign relations of Somalia, citing the Somali MFA list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Somalia)). Somalia joined the Arab League in 1974 ([The National, 1 July 2022](https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2022/07/01/things-to-know-about-the-somali-community-in-the-uae)). After its defeat in the [Ogaden War](/en/history/ogaden-war-1977/) of 1977–1978, the [Siad Barre](/en/people/siad-barre/) government aligned its policies more closely with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In the 1980s Somalia depended more and more on aid from [Kuwait](/en/diaspora/kuwait/), [Qatar](/en/diaspora/qatar/), Saudi Arabia and the UAE ([Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study, Relations with Arab Countries](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/79.htm)). Saudi Arabia supplied much of Somalia's oil as a donor ([Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/63.htm)). In 1990 Somalia sided with the US-led coalition after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Saudi Arabia then offered a US$70 million grant and oil below market prices ([Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study, Relations with Arab Countries](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/79.htm)). Somali workers went to Saudi Arabia in large numbers during the oil boom of the 1970s and 1980s; see [Saudi Arabia (Somali diaspora)](/en/diaspora/saudi-arabia/). After the central government fell in 1991, Saudi Arabia had no diplomats in Somalia, though relations were never cut ([en.wikipedia.org, Foreign relations of Somalia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Somalia)). ## Who are the ambassadors and envoys? - **Mohamed Abdi-kani Al-Khayat:** presented credentials to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on 18 January 2017 as Saudi Arabia's first ambassador to Somalia since the 1990s ([Goobjoog, 18 January 2017, via Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Somalia)). No fuller list of ambassadors in either direction was found for this page. ## Who built the tie? - **Prince Khalid bin Salman**, Saudi defence minister: signed the February 2026 memorandum and announced it on X ([Al Jazeera, 10 February 2026](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/somalia-saudi-arabia-sign-agreement-on-military-cooperation)). - **Ahmed Moallim Fiqi**, Somali defence minister: signed the same memorandum ([Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/somalia-saudi-arabia-sign-agreement-on-military-cooperation)). - **[Hassan Sheikh Mohamud](/en/people/hassan-sheikh-mohamud/)**, Somali president: received the first Saudi ambassador since the 1990s in January 2017 ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Somalia)). ## What agreements have they signed? - **9 February 2026:** memorandum of understanding on defence and military cooperation, Riyadh. Neither side published the text ([Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/somalia-saudi-arabia-sign-agreement-on-military-cooperation)). ## Which leaders have visited? - **January 2017:** Saudi ambassador Al-Khayat presented credentials in Mogadishu. - **9 February 2026:** Defence Minister Fiqi in Riyadh ([Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/somalia-saudi-arabia-sign-agreement-on-military-cooperation)). ## How much do they trade? Saudi imports from Somalia, from World Bank WITS data: - **2010:** US$135.0 million ([WITS](https://wits.worldbank.org/API/V1/SDMX/V21/datasource/tradestats-trade/reporter/SAU/year/2010/partner/SOM/product/Total/indicator/MPRT-TRD-VL)). - **2015:** US$319.0 million ([WITS](https://wits.worldbank.org/API/V1/SDMX/V21/datasource/tradestats-trade/reporter/SAU/year/2015/partner/SOM/product/Total/indicator/MPRT-TRD-VL)). - **2020:** US$40.0 million ([WITS](https://wits.worldbank.org/API/V1/SDMX/V21/datasource/tradestats-trade/reporter/SAU/year/2020/partner/SOM/product/Total/indicator/MPRT-TRD-VL)). - **2022:** US$131.2 million ([WITS](https://wits.worldbank.org/API/V1/SDMX/V21/datasource/tradestats-trade/reporter/SAU/year/2022/partner/SOM/product/Total/indicator/MPRT-TRD-VL)). - **2023:** US$282.6 million ([WITS](https://wits.worldbank.org/API/V1/SDMX/V21/datasource/tradestats-trade/reporter/SAU/year/2023/partner/SOM/product/Total/indicator/MPRT-TRD-VL)). Saudi Arabia was long Somalia's main buyer. In June 1983 it stopped importing Somali cattle, citing rinderpest, and soon extended the ban to sheep and goats; the loss of earnings opened a large budget deficit ([Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/61.htm)). In 1990 Italy narrowly replaced Saudi Arabia as the leading buyer of Somali goods ([Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/64.htm)). Saudi exports to Somalia are smaller: US$58.1 million in 2019 and US$38.7 million in 2023 ([WITS](https://wits.worldbank.org/API/V1/SDMX/V21/datasource/tradestats-trade/reporter/SAU/year/2023/partner/SOM/product/Total/indicator/XPRT-TRD-VL)). Somalia's live animal exports earned US$922.9 million in 2025, most of it from Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE ([Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025](https://centralbank.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Annual-Report_2025.pdf)). For the history of the trade, including Saudi import bans, see [Livestock exports](/en/economy/livestock-exports/). ## How much aid and money has gone in? Saudi government humanitarian funding to Somalia reported to the UN Financial Tracking Service: - **2011:** US$95.2 million, during the famine ([FTS, 2011](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2011&groupby=organization)). - **2012:** US$93.4 million ([FTS, 2012](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2012&groupby=organization)). - **2017:** US$16.2 million ([FTS, 2017](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2017&groupby=organization)). - **2019:** US$11.6 million ([FTS, 2019](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2019&groupby=organization)). - **2022:** US$22.4 million ([FTS, 2022](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2022&groupby=organization)). - **2023:** US$41.2 million ([FTS, 2023](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2023&groupby=organization)). - **2024:** US$37.2 million ([FTS, 2024](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2024&groupby=organization)). - **2025:** US$34.8 million ([FTS, 2025](https://api.hpc.tools/v1/public/fts/flow?locationid=206&year=2025&groupby=organization)). - **Loans:** by the end of the 1970s Somalia owed Saudi Arabia US$81.9 million ([Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study](https://countrystudies.us/somalia/60.htm)). At the end of 2025 Somalia owed the Saudi Fund for Development US$117.31 million and paid it US$3.11 million in interest that year ([Somali Ministry of Finance, Annual Debt Management Report 2025](https://archive.mof.gov.so/sites/default/files/Publications/FY2025%20Annual%20Debt%20Management%20Report%20%28ADMR%29%20Report%20No.2_mq%20%281%29.pdf)). In January 2016 Somalia received a Saudi aid pledge of US$50 million on the same day it cut ties with Iran. The Somali government denied any link ([Reuters, 17 January 2016, via Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Somalia)). ## What about security? The February 2026 memorandum covers defence and military ties; no details were released ([Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/10/somalia-saudi-arabia-sign-agreement-on-military-cooperation)). For foreign military roles, see [Foreign forces in Somalia](/en/institutions/foreign-forces-in-somalia/). ## How does Saudi Arabia deal with Somaliland and the member states? - **Livestock ports:** for the ports in [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) and [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/) that ship animals to Saudi Arabia, see [Livestock exports](/en/economy/livestock-exports/). - **Berbera and Yemen, 2026:** the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Aidarous al-Zubaidi, leader of Yemen's Southern Transitional Council, left Yemen through Berbera in January 2026. Mogadishu then called it unauthorised use of Somali airspace and airports ([Africanews, 13 January 2026](https://www.africanews.com/2026/01/13/somalia-cancels-all-agreements-with-united-arab-emirates/)). ## Have there been disputes? - **Deportations:** Saudi Arabia began a campaign against undocumented workers on 4 November 2013. The IOM said Saudi authorities deported 40,779 Somalis to Mogadishu between December 2013 and August 2014 ([Human Rights Watch, 10 May 2015](https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/05/10/detained-beaten-deported/saudi-abuses-against-migrants-during-mass-expulsions)). - **Gulf crisis, 2017–2018:** Somalia refused Saudi and Emirati pressure to cut ties with Qatar ([Al Jazeera, 11 April 2018](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/somalia-disbands-uae-programme-pay-train-soldiers-180411190249670.html)). ## How many Somalis live in Saudi Arabia? UN DESA estimated 48,099 people born in Somalia living in Saudi Arabia in 2024 ([UN DESA, International Migrant Stock 2024](https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/undesa_pd_2024_ims_stock_by_sex_destination_and_origin.xlsx)). See [Saudi Arabia (Somali diaspora)](/en/diaspora/saudi-arabia/). ## Where does Saudi Arabia stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia? - **Arab League:** Somalia and Saudi Arabia are both members; Somalia joined in 1974 ([The National, 2022](https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2022/07/01/things-to-know-about-the-somali-community-in-the-uae)). - **Iran, 2016:** Somalia cut ties with Iran in January 2016, the same day it received the Saudi aid pledge ([Reuters, 17 January 2016, via Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Somalia)). ## Related pages - [Saudi Arabia (Somali diaspora)](/en/diaspora/saudi-arabia/) - [Livestock exports](/en/economy/livestock-exports/) - [Foreign forces in Somalia](/en/institutions/foreign-forces-in-somalia/) - [Aid and humanitarian funding](/en/economy/aid-and-humanitarian-funding/) --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.