Farmaajo heads to UAE amid port deal pressure

On 10 April 2017, Goobjoog News reported that President Farmaajo had flown to the UAE the previous day, leaving behind what it called a “Twitter storm” over port and naval base agreements between the UAE and two Somali regions.

The visit was Farmaajo’s second to the Gulf, according to Goobjoog News. It came three days after the Puntland government announced a 30-year concession to UAE’s P&O Ports to develop and manage Bosaso port.

Goobjoog News reported the P&O Ports deal was valued at $336 million, and that it came in addition to another $442 million deal by UAE’s DP World over the same port for the same period with an automatic ten-year renewal. However, the report also noted that P&O Ports was acquired by DP World in 2006 and is fully owned by the Emirati government, leaving unclear whether the two figures represented separate agreements, revised versions of one deal, or an error. The reported figures are not defined as total project costs, contract values, or investments.

A Puntland lawmaker who declined to be named told Goobjoog News the state assembly had not debated the matter. An unnamed MP said, “I cannot commend about this issue since we have not seen the deal yet. We are waiting for President Ali Gaas to brief us about it.” Puntland leader Gaas said the deal was “a huge undertaking in Puntland and will greatly contribute to the infrastructure development in Somalia.”

Goobjoog News also reported that a section of Federal Parliament MPs had tabled a motion questioning a UAE naval base agreement with Somaliland which would grant the Emirati military rights to pitch camp at Berbera port. Lawmakers asked the Farmaajo administration to state what it knows about the matter. Sources told Goobjoog News the immediate former administration may have been privy to the deal and that there may have been cases of money changing hands, though they used speculative language.

A Twitter hashtag, #UAEHandsOffSomalia, generated debate on Sunday, according to Goobjoog News. The report did not provide metrics or sources for the hashtag’s reach.

During a March visit to Saudi Arabia, Farmaajo is reported to have sought Saudi support to convince the UAE to drop the deal, Goobjoog News wrote. A source privy to the matter told Goobjoog News the Emiratis were also keen on striking a ports management deal with Jubbaland authorities to take over Kismayu port.

The Goobjoog News report does not establish what happened after Farmaajo’s arrival in the UAE, whether any of the deals were modified or withdrawn, or the outcome of the parliamentary motion.