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Somalia and the UAE signed an agreement to strengthen military and security ties, as well as cooperation on counter-terrorism, as the two countries try to improve strained relations, anadolu agency reports.
The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night by Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohammad al-Nour and his defense minister Mohammad bin Ahmed al-Bawadi.
In a statement, Noor said the agreement would strengthen “the institutional capacity building of the Somali security forces and support ongoing efforts to eradicate al-Shabaab from Somalia”.
The al-Shabaab terror group, an al-Qaeda affiliate, has claimed thousands of lives since at least 2007 in a deadly campaign against the Somali government and international forces.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declared “all-out war” against the group as it continues to wage violent attacks in the country.
Al-Shabaab carried out two suicide bombings in the central Somali town of Mahas on Wednesday, killing at least 35 people and injuring more than 70.
Noor added that the UAE remains a “strategic partner in Somalia’s peacebuilding and state-building efforts.”
read: UAE uses ‘humanitarian diplomacy’ to mend ties with Somalia
A statement from the UAE Ministry of Defense said the talks in Abu Dhabi also focused on protecting common interests.
Bilateral relations between the two countries have been lukewarm for years, not least over Somalia’s accusations that the UAE is meddling in its internal politics.
Relations between the two countries declined sharply under former president Mohammad Abdullahi Mohammed, with Somalia’s parliament even banning UAE state-owned port operator DP World from operating, saying it posed a threat to Somalia’s sovereignty.
In response, the UAE closed a military installation and a hospital in Mogadishu, while also disbanding its military training mission.
President Mohammed, who led Somalia from 2012 to 2017 and began his second term last May, has made repairing diplomatic relations with the UAE a top foreign policy priority.
read: Somalia court: Money confiscated from UAE plane in 2018 will not be returned
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