Somalia: in the failure of Farmajo’s foreign policy
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NAIROBI, Kenya – Building strong foreign ties with neighbors is one of the approaches that allows nations to survive for a long time or even expand cooperation and improve their socio-economic and geopolitical stability. Countries have good foreign policies for sustainability.
A nation with sound foreign policies continues to thrive. However, in Somalia this has clearly been lacking over the past four years, defining the cruelty of the administration of incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo which has been in trouble over time.
If not at daggers drawn with its neighbors, Somalia has at least had a challenge with its citizens living elsewhere, something that portrays the Farmajo administration in a bad light. Its critics have often dug holes in its foreign policy which has weakened over time.
“My administration had established a strong and viable foreign policy based on zero external enemies since Somalia is fragile and cannot tolerate foreign interference,” said Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Farmajo’s immediate predecessor.
The former president was the main guest on Garowe Online’s Twitter space on Saturday, where he addressed a number of both national and local issues. In fact, he is not the only one to have raised serious concerns about the country’s foreign policy.
Over the years, Somalia has faced a number of challenges, ranging from Al-Shabaab’s war to flooding, financial traps, and even the inter-clan militias that run sections of the country. Along with the aforementioned myriad of challenges comes political instability as well.
Ideally, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was to step down in February, but the lack of timely elections still keeps him in office. Elections will be held in the next two months based on a political agreement that was signed last month.
The problem with Nairobi
There is no nation that has borne the brunt of Farmajo’s ailing foreign policies other than Kenya. Over the past four years, Somalia’s relations with Kenya have waned, sometimes resulting in unpleasant reprisals, including the closure of diplomatic offices.
A few weeks ago, Nairobi closed the airspace to planes bound for Somalia just days after Qatar negotiated a truce between the two countries. It was the third time in two years that Kenya has been at daggers drawn with Somalia over issues that could have been resolved amicably.
Kenya said through the Foreign Ministry on Thursday that the change of mind was made necessary by the mutual interests of the two countries, in the hope that a full normalization of bilateral relations would occur.
“The government of Kenya has given due consideration to the intercessions made and has decided to reopen Kenya’s airspace to all flights from Somalia and from Kenya to Somalia,” the statement said.
In a statement dated June 10, 2021, Mogadishu called the move an important step in the process of improving bilateral trade, communications and the flow of citizens between the two countries.
Somalia, while welcoming the resumption of flights, affirmed its commitment to restore and accelerate diplomatic, trade and people-to-people relations for the prosperity of Somalia and Kenya.
“The Federal Government of Somalia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, seizes at the earliest opportunity and proposes the formation of a joint committee with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Kenya to define modalities leading to the full restoration of diplomatic relations between the two nations, ”Somalia said through the Foreign Ministry.
He added that Kenya’s positive gesture is a starting point to start negotiations aimed at a full normalization of diplomatic relations.
“The two brother nations have always collaborated in security, trade and mutual cultural relations based on common interests, good neighborliness, respect for sovereignty and political indolence.
But it’s not just the airspace or the Miraa ban [Khat] in Somalia, which apparently targeted Kenya, a major producer. The two countries are also involved in the Indian Ocean maritime border case, currently being arbitrated by the International Court of Justice. [ICJ].
Also, the activities undertaken by KDF in Jubaland have often degenerated into disagreeable exchanges between Kenya and Somalia. Somalia last week accused the KDF of carrying out indiscriminate airstrikes without caring about the population, adding that “from now on you must be cleared before carrying out such airstrikes.”
The whole Jubaland affair doesn’t necessarily involve the KDF’s prosecution of Al-Shabaab, but some claim Kenya is using Jubaland to “undermine” Somalia, which Kenya has denied over time. But the two countries never seem to get along when necessary.
What about the Horn of Africa?
While Somalia enjoys cordial relations with most countries in the Horn of Africa, it has also come with its share of challenges. Just a few years ago, Somalia settled its strained relations with Ethiopia and Eritrea, which were its traditional adversaries.
But despite normalcy, Ethiopia and Eritrea have been drawn into Somalia’s security sector, which has created more mistrust among many opposition leaders. For example, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] has often been accused of helping Farmajo lash out on his opponents.
For example, in 2018, the ENDF reportedly arrested Mukhtar Robow, a former deputy head of Al-Shabaab, who was running for the Southwest presidency. At least 11 people have been killed in the deadly clashes, raising questions about Ethiopia’s interest in Somalia.
Last year, the non-Amisom ENDF contingent was also accused of working with the Somali National Army. [SNA] with clandestine plans to overthrow the president of Jubaland, Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe. The plot, critics say, failed due to Kenya’s influence in Jubaland.
For Eritrea, it has been a tough week after reports that Somali troops training there fought in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. A report by the special rapporteur said Somali troops moved to Axum in 2020, a claim the government denies.
President Farmajo has been accused of plotting to extend his tenure, and the 5,000 to 7,000 soldiers training in Eritrea are believed to have been recruited on purpose to help him stay in power. We do not know why the government has never published the names of these young people.
Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have often been accused of compromising Somalia’s security sector to the detriment of the country’s domestic politics. Farmajo’s term expired on February 8.
It’s not just the Horn and Kenya. A similar trend in Somalia’s unpredictable foreign policy has been observed even with regard to the Middle East, where Mogadishu is heavily dependent on Qatar, resulting in unpleasant retaliation from the United Arab Emirates, which also has interests in Somalia. .
Experts questioned the approach and even warned that if the country fails to come up with tangible foreign policies, it would struggle to build relationships with other nations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information are known to regularly issue statements.
“During Farmajo’s chaotic 4-year presidency, Somalia had the worst foreign policy amid confusion which was limited to personal feelings and not national interests,” said Mohamed Farole, senior security adviser to the president. from Northeastern State, Said Abdullahi Deni.
“Our country’s foreign policy has become a tool that President Farmajo uses to attack everyone, with reckless and hasty statements coming from the Foreign Office every time. These declarations and decisions have no institutional source or reference, ”adds Abdishakur Warsame, the leader of the opposition.
In fact, the inconsistent foreign policy also manifested itself on Saturday when Farmajo stopped following India to Kenya on its Twitter. He had followed the page despite India having no diplomatic offices in Mogadishu.
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