Somalia, UAE hold talks as tensions simmer over Puntland, Somaliland
The visit occurred on the same day that Somalia's president met with Sudan’s intelligence chief.
Somalia and the United Arab Emirates held high-level talks on Wednesday in Mogadishu in a bid to strengthen relations strained by Abu Dhabi’s dealings with Somalia’s breakaway regions and its growing role in the Horn of Africa.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud hosted Emirati Minister of State Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan for talks at the presidential palace.
According to the UAE’s state news agency, WAM, discussions centered on “reviewing the close bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to further strengthen them, as well as joint efforts to expand and develop avenues of cooperation across various fields.”
A press release from President Mohamud’s office said that the meeting had a “particular emphasis on Somalia’s reconstruction, economic development and security.”
