UAE efforts vital to future of Somalia
The UAE’s campaign to rescue Somalia from its plight of humanitarian disaster, piracy and terrorism at the hands of Al Shabab is a major objective.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development and UAE port operators have for five years been involved in trying to make the failed east African state a functioning member of the regional community.
The Armed Forces, and specifically the Navy, have been working to develop a Somali coastguard to protect the country’s fishermen and also foreign tankers from piracy.
Last year, the Armed Forces donated battle wagons and other equipment to the Somali national security and intelligence agency, plus training programmes for Somali special operations forces for counterterrorism missions.
The value of the UAE’s military aid is hundreds of millions of dollars and it has led to a major military agreement signed by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Somali defence minister Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud.
The cross-section of the UAE public and private entities helping Somalia has the goal of stabilising the majority Sunni Muslim country and readying it for mutually beneficial investment.
The UAE has undertaken this effort as it sees conditions in Somalia as a potential threat to the region’s stability.
In the work put in over the last five years, piracy has been reduced but, in collaboration with the Somali government, efforts to help the country be a productive regional ally are ongoing.
The primary tools used by the UAE are foreign and security initiatives and public-private partnerships. The idea is to build economic empowerment while fighting piracy and terrorism.
Sheikh Abdullah is a proponent of soft diplomacy when interacting with Somalia at both national and regional levels because of the country’s clan-based system.
The Ministery of International Cooperation and Development led by Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi complements this approach by em- phasising that the security of Somalia’s citizens is an economic requirement. Both UAE ministries interact with organisations such as the European Union (EU) and the United Nations in relation to the country. We must remember that the mandate for the EU’s Atalanta maritime security programme to halt piracy off the coast of Somalia expires next year. The fear is that once the mission ends, piracy will return, affecting the security of the Gulf of Aden and the greater Indian Ocean – a possibility that poses a real threat to the UAE.
The UAE wants to ensure that there is stability and alternative economic models, especially in microfinance and investment that helps to create jobs for Somali youths.
From the UAE point of view, it is imperative to create a Somalia that can serve as a model for the rest of Africa while guaranteeing that piracy will not re-emerge.
That is why the UAE views its good relationship with Puntland, the autonomous area that makes up roughly a third of Somalia, as a major achievement.
DP World, the Dubai-based global ports operator, is part of the UAE’s outreach programme for Somalia. It has plans to develop three ports in the country to help boost a faltering economy.
Security, however, is a key requirement for building such infrastructure, so DP World has worked closely with the UAE’s security and foreign policy arms.
This collaboration is pivotal as the Al Qaeda-affiliated militant group Al Shabab still represents a danger not only to Somalia but also to Kenya, where Mombasa is a major UAE economic partner.
Several thousand UAE troops are involved in organising, training and equipping various Somalia factions to help them not only with counterterrorism operations but also in fulfilling general policing functions.
The rule of law is critical in Somalia, and the UAE is continuing to set the standard when it comes to helping the country get on its feet and stay there. The alternative is not something the region can afford to let happen.