Relationship dossier
Somalia
United Arab Emirates
Relationship assessment
Security cooperation has resumed after a period of serious disputes over UAE engagement in Somalia.
Somalia toward United Arab Emirates
+10Somali authorities seized UAE funds at Mogadishu airport in 2018 and ended a UAE military training arrangement. Somalia later entered a defence cooperation agreement with the UAE in 2024, indicating renewed government-level security engagement.
United Arab Emirates toward Somalia
+5The UAE provided military training in Somalia before the mission ended in 2018 and later renewed security cooperation through a defence agreement with the Somali government in 2024. UAE engagement with regional authorities has also been a source of tension with Mogadishu.
Overall relationship
+10The relationship has been shaped by UAE security assistance and later renewed defence cooperation, alongside a major 2018 rupture and recurring tension over UAE engagement with Somali regional authorities. The combination supports a mixed but cooperative bilateral structure; the extent of its recent consolidation remains unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Somalia–UAE relations have combined security cooperation and assistance with serious disputes over the UAE’s engagement with regional authorities. A 2018 seizure by Somali authorities of UAE funds at Mogadishu airport and the end of a UAE military training mission marked a sharp downturn. The two governments later renewed security cooperation through a defence agreement in 2024, though the breadth and durability of that cooperation are unclear.
Areas of tension
- Somalia’s 2018 seizure of UAE funds at Mogadishu airport and the subsequent end of the UAE military training mission.
- UAE engagement with Somali regional authorities, which has caused friction with the federal government.
Key developments
Somali authorities seized UAE funds at Mogadishu airport, amid a dispute that was followed by the end of a UAE military training mission.
Somalia and the UAE signed a defence cooperation agreement, marking renewed government-level security cooperation.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the 2024 defence agreement are unclear.
- The extent of current UAE engagement with Somali federal member states and its coordination with Mogadishu is uncertain.