Somalia’s Foreign Policy Under Fire as Sheikh Sharif Questions Hassan Sheikh’s Regional Diplomacy
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Former Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has challenged the government’s diplomatic strategy, warning that engagement with regional powers pursuing competing agendas could come at the expense of Somalia’s national interests.
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Sharif criticised President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s recent visits to Ethiopia and Egypt, saying Mogadishu risked becoming caught between countries whose strategic priorities and alliances are increasingly at odds.
“It is a disgrace for Somali diplomacy that President Hassan Sheikh lands in Addis Ababa and travels to Cairo the following day,” Sharif said.
Somalia is managing a difficult regional landscape involving Ethiopia and Egypt, which have sharply divergent positions on several issues. Among the disputes are Ethiopia’s efforts to obtain access to the Red Sea and Egypt’s opposition to Addis Ababa’s stance on the Nile River.
Sharif cautioned that Somalia could neglect its own priorities if it became drawn into conflicts involving rival governments and political blocs.
He said foreign policy should be based on common interests, mutual benefit, respectful relations with neighbours and national independence. Somalia, he added, should neither become indebted to nor unnecessarily alienate any country.
“We do not want to get involved in, or become entangled in, the problems between governments and groups,” he said.
The former president’s criticism reflects broader concerns among Somali political figures over the federal government’s efforts to balance relations with powerful regional actors amid intensifying geopolitical competition in the Horn of Africa.
Somalia has worked to expand its regional and international partnerships while asserting its sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the same time, those diplomatic decisions have become increasingly contested at home, with opposition figures questioning whether the government is sufficiently safeguarding the country’s interests.
Sharif also dismissed the idea that Somalia’s domestic political crisis could be settled through outside intervention, saying dialogue among Somalis offered the only lasting solution.
He said Somalia had previously survived more challenging periods because its people understood the need to meet, negotiate and reach agreements.
Sharif said the country had a political tradition of bringing leaders together every four years to conduct elections and ensure the peaceful transfer of power, a process he argued must be protected.
His remarks come as disagreements continue over Somalia’s political direction, including constitutional amendments, electoral arrangements and the duration and exercise of political authority.
Sharif said compromise would remain out of reach if certain leaders sought to extend their time in office through what he called oppression, injustice, theft, betrayal and bloodshed.
He said political leaders would need to show a sincere readiness to compromise if Somalia is to prevent further instability.
Somalia has faced decades of difficulty in building durable political institutions since the central government collapsed in 1991. Successive administrations have pursued stronger federal structures and improved governance, but disputes among political leaders have repeatedly hindered agreement on elections and constitutional reform.
Sharif, who was Somalia’s president from 2009 to 2012, remains a prominent political figure and has often criticised the federal government’s management of the country’s political affairs.
His latest comments add to an expanding debate over the connection between Somalia’s foreign policy and its internal political tensions, as the country seeks to defend its strategic interests while addressing divisions at home.
AXADLETM
