Somalia and the UAE

How do Somalia and the UAE relate today?

The UAE is Somalia's largest source of imports. It exported goods worth US$1.53 billion to Somalia in 2023 and bought US$360 million of Somali goods (WITS, World Bank, exports; WITS, imports).

Formal ties are in dispute. On 12 January 2026 Somalia's Council of Ministers cancelled all agreements with the UAE, covering port operations, security and defence (Al Jazeera, 12 January 2026). The decision named the ports of Berbera, Bosaso and Kismayo and was to apply to regional administrations too (Africanews, 13 January 2026).

The UAE company DP World still runs Berbera port in Somaliland under a 2016 agreement with Somaliland (The National, 28 May 2016). Somaliland called the UAE a trusted friend and rejected Mogadishu's decision (Al Jazeera, 12 January 2026).

When did contact begin?

Trade across the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea is ancient. Before the oil boom, the Emirates imported livestock and leather from Mogadishu, and some Somalis settled there before the Emirates united (Khaleej Times, 2003; The National, 1 July 2022).

In the 1980s Somalia depended more and more on aid from the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study, Relations with Arab Countries). By the end of the 1970s it owed Abu Dhabi US$67.0 million (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study). The UAE was an important buyer of Somali goods in 1990 (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study).

After 1991, Dubai became the main hub for Somali goods and money. Most gold, textile and cloth shops in the Somali market at Murshed Bazaar were run by Somali women in 2003 (Khaleej Times, 2003). That year six Somali cargo aircraft flew between Dubai and Mogadishu 12 to 14 times a week (Khaleej Times, 2003). See UAE and Dubai (Somali diaspora).

The UAE welcomed the Federal Government of Somalia in August 2012 and backed its territorial integrity (UN Secretary-General statement, August 2012). In late March 2013 the two foreign ministers signed a memorandum re-establishing formal ties, and the UAE said it would reopen its embassy in Mogadishu (Warlalis, 2 April 2013, archived).

Who are the ambassadors and envoys?

• Mohamed Al Osmani: UAE ambassador to Somalia; met Puntland's president in Bosaso on 28 March 2014 (Horseed Media, 28 March 2014).
• Mohammed Ahmed Othman Al Hammadi: UAE ambassador; met Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke in Mogadishu in January 2015 (Goobjoog, via Wikipedia's source list).
• AbdulKadir Sheikhey Al-Hatimi: Somali ambassador in Abu Dhabi (Embassy of Somalia, UAE, archived 2014).
• Mohammed Yarow Abu Bakar Mayow: Somali consul-general in the UAE in 2003. He said about 60% of Somalis there ran their own businesses (Khaleej Times, 2 August 2003).
• Bashe Omar: head of the Somaliland trade office in Dubai in 2016 (The National, 28 May 2016).

Missions: the UAE embassy in Mogadishu; Somalia's embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulate general in Dubai (Khaleej Times, 2003); the Somaliland office in Dubai.

Who built the tie?

• Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE foreign minister: signed the March 2013 memorandum with Fawzia Yusuf Adam, Somalia's foreign minister (Warlalis, archived).
• Ahmad Humaid Al Mazroui, chairman of the UAE Red Crescent: led a delegation to President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in Mogadishu during the 2011 famine, outlining plans for health, education, energy and water (Gulf News/WAM, 11 September 2011).
• Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, DP World chairman: signed the Berbera deal in 2016 and opened the new terminal on 24 June 2021 with President Muse Bihi Abdi (The National, 2016; DP World, 24 June 2021).
• Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, Somaliland president, and Saad Ali Shire, Somaliland foreign minister: Somaliland's side of the 2016 Berbera deal (The National, 2016).
• Muse Bihi Abdi, Somaliland president: made a six-day UAE visit in 2019, after which the UAE announced the restoration of Berbera airport (Hawilti, 23 November 2021).
• Abdiweli Gaas, Puntland president: signed the Bosaso port concession with P&O Ports in Dubai in April 2017 (Garowe Online, 12 October 2017).
• Abdirahman Farole, Puntland president: oversaw the UAE-funded Puntland Maritime Police Force, formed in 2010 (Horseed Media, 2014).
• Ahmed Madobe (Ahmed Mohamed Islam), Jubaland president: described by Ido Levy as having close ties with Abu Dhabi (Washington Institute, 18 March 2024).
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somali president: training of federal cadets by the UAE resumed after his return in 2022 (Washington Institute, 2024).
• Anwar Gargash, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs: publicly criticised the Somali government in April 2018 (Daily Sabah, 16 April 2018).
• Mohamed Mursal Abdirahman, Somali defence minister: announced on 11 April 2018 that Somalia would pay and train the UAE-funded soldiers itself (Al Jazeera, 11 April 2018).
• Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, Somali defence minister: defended the January 2026 cancellation (Al Jazeera, 12 January 2026).

What agreements have they signed?

• Late March 2013: memorandum on bilateral cooperation, re-establishing formal ties (Warlalis, archived).
• November 2014: memorandum on military cooperation (KUNA, via Wikipedia's source list).
• May 2016, Berbera (with Somaliland, not the federal government): DP World agreed US$442 million to develop Berbera port and a free zone. Phase one was US$230 million (The National, 28 May 2016).
• 6 April 2017, Bosaso (with Puntland): P&O Ports won a 30-year concession worth US$336 million (Garowe Online, 12 October 2017).
• 1 March 2018, Berbera shares: Ethiopia took 19%, with DP World at 51% and Somaliland at 30% (en.wikipedia.org, DP World Berbera New Port).
• 12 January 2026: Somalia's cabinet revoked all agreements with the UAE (Africanews).

Which leaders have visited?

• During the 2011 famine: a UAE Red Crescent delegation met President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in Mogadishu (Gulf News/WAM, 11 September 2011).
• March 2014: Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed made a three-day visit to the UAE; the UAE pledged help with rebuilding and institutions (RaxanReeb, March 2014, archived).
• March 2015: Foreign Minister Abdisalam Omer Hadliye met Abdullah bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi (en.wikipedia.org, Somalia–UAE relations).
• 2019: Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, six days in the UAE (Hawilti).
• 24 June 2021: DP World chairman Sultan bin Sulayem in Berbera, with Ethiopia's finance and transport ministers (DP World).

How much do they trade?

UAE exports to Somalia, from World Bank WITS data:

• 2010: US$288 million (WITS).
• 2015: US$546 million (WITS).
• 2019: US$1.16 billion (WITS).
• 2022: US$1.89 billion (WITS).
• 2023: US$1.53 billion (WITS).

UAE imports from Somalia were US$81 million in 2010, US$196 million in 2019 and US$360 million in 2023 (WITS).

Companies:

• DP World Berbera: the new terminal opened on 24 June 2021 with a 400 m quay, three cranes and capacity of 500,000 containers (TEU) a year, up from 150,000. A second phase is planned to reach 2 million TEU. The Berbera Economic Zone is modelled on Jebel Ali (DP World, 24 June 2021).
• P&O Ports Bosaso: took over Bosaso port at a handover on 12 October 2017. Plans include a 450 m quay and dredging to 12 m (Garowe Online, 12 October 2017).
• Berbera airport: renovated by the Dubai firm Transport Infrastructure Services Limited and reopened to international passengers on 20 November 2021 (Hawilti).
• Somali firms in Dubai: by 2022 Dubai had more than 100 Somali businesses in gold, textiles, hotels, money exchange and cargo (The National, 2022).

How much aid and money has gone in?

• Famine relief: the UAE Red Crescent ran relief in Somalia during the 2011 famine (Gulf News/WAM, 11 September 2011).
• Soldiers' pay: from 2014 the UAE paid the wages of 2,407 Somali soldiers and built training centres and a hospital (Daily Sabah, 16 April 2018). After 2022 it paid about US$9 million a month to new brigades (Washington Institute, 2024).
• Debt: the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development was Somalia's largest single creditor at the end of 2025, owed US$267.81 million. On 11 February 2025 the two sides signed a rescheduling over 40 years, with 16 years' grace and no interest until the end of 2028 (Somali Ministry of Finance, Annual Debt Management Report 2025).
• Humanitarian funding reported to the UN: the UAE government reported US$19.8 million in 2011, US$20.0 million in 2022 and US$7.1 million in 2024 (FTS, 2011; FTS, 2022; FTS, 2024).
• Roads: the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development co-funds the Berbera–Wajaale road with the UK (DP World, 2021).

What about security?

The UAE funded the Puntland Maritime Police Force from 2010 and trained federal troops from 2014 (Horseed Media, 2014; Defense News/AP, 17 April 2018). On 8 April 2018 Somali security forces took US$9.6 million in cash from a Royal Jet plane at Mogadishu airport. The UAE said the money was soldiers' pay; Somalia said it was undeclared, and the UAE ended its training mission on 15 April (Al Jazeera, 11 April 2018; Daily Sabah). Training resumed after 2022 (Washington Institute, 2024). See The UAE's military in Somalia and Foreign forces in Somalia.

Charcoal: the UN bans Somali charcoal exports. In 2018 the UN Monitoring Group said networks based in Dubai and Kismayo used false certificates of origin to sell Somali charcoal, worth an estimated US$150 million a year wholesale in markets such as the UAE. It said UAE seizures helped deter the trade, but the UAE did not answer its questions on charcoal shipped through Iran to Hamriyah port (UN Security Council, S/2018/1002, 9 November 2018).

How does the UAE deal with Somaliland and the member states?

• Somaliland: the Berbera port deal is part of a government-to-government memorandum between the UAE and Somaliland (en.wikipedia.org, Port of Berbera). The UAE agreed to train Somaliland's security forces and was building a base at Berbera in 2018 (Al Jazeera, 11 April 2018).
• Puntland: the UAE backed the maritime police and, on 28 March 2014, agreed to keep supporting it (Horseed Media). P&O Ports runs Bosaso (Garowe Online).
• Jubaland: since at least mid-2023 the UAE has given vehicles and training to Jubaland forces (Washington Institute, 2024).
• Gulf split, 2017–2018: Somalia's federal government stayed neutral in the Gulf crisis with Qatar, while some federal member states sided with the UAE (Daily Sabah, 2018).
• 2026: Al Jazeera reported it was unclear whether Puntland and Jubaland would follow the federal cancellation (Al Jazeera, 12 January 2026).

Have there been disputes?

• Berbera stake, March 2018: after Ethiopia took 19% of Berbera, Somali lawmakers passed a resolution accusing DP World of violating Somalia's sovereignty (Daily Sabah, 2018). Somalia's UN ambassador Abukar Osman called the UAE–Somaliland base deal a violation of international law (Al Jazeera, 2018).
• Cash seizure, April 2018: the UAE called it a breach of diplomatic norms; Somalia's security ministry said it handed the bags to the relevant departments (Daily Sabah).
• Election money claim: a November 2017 UN Security Council report alleged the UAE paid cash to influence Somalia's 2017 presidential election (Defense News/AP, 2018).
• January 2026: Somalia cited "strong evidence" of actions against its sovereignty. Mogadishu also opened an inquiry into the reported transit of Yemen's Southern Transitional Council leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi through Berbera on 8 January 2026 (Al Jazeera, 12 January 2026). The UAE did not sign a December 2025 Arab-Islamic statement condemning Israel's recognition of Somaliland, but on 7 January 2026 it issued a joint statement with the African Union backing Somalia's territorial integrity (Al Jazeera, 12 January 2026).

How many Somalis live in the UAE?

The UN counted 9,109 people born in Somalia in the UAE in 2024, while The National reported more than 50,000 Somalis in 2022 (UN DESA, 2024; The National, 2022). See UAE and Dubai (Somali diaspora).

Where does the UAE stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?

• 2012: welcomed the new federal government and its territorial integrity (UN, 2012).
• Arms embargo: UN monitors said UAE support to the Puntland maritime police breached the arms embargo, and Puntland ended the trainer Sterling Corporate Services' contract (en.wikipedia.org, Puntland Maritime Police Force).
• 2025–2026: after Israel's recognition of Somaliland, the UAE joined the African Union in a 7 January 2026 statement backing Somalia's sovereignty (Al Jazeera, 12 January 2026).

Related pages

• The UAE's military in Somalia
• Foreign forces in Somalia
• UAE and Dubai (Somali diaspora)
• Ports
• Puntland
• Jubaland
• Somaliland 1991 to 2026