In brief
- Horn Diplomat reported on July 3, 2017 that Somaliland's Foreign Minister Dr. Sa'ad Ali Shire signed an agreement with UAE counterparts detailing the terms and process for two development programs.
- The programs are included in the deal reached with the Emirates to provide that country with a military base in Berbera, according to Horn Diplomat.
- The report does not establish what has happened since the signing, and no primary agreement document or official government statement is provided.
Horn Diplomat reported on July 3, 2017 that Somaliland's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Sa'ad Ali Shire, formally signed an agreement with UAE counterparts detailing the terms and process for two development programs, one being a major Berbera corridor and the other a new airport in Berbera.
The report states that the two development programs are included in the deal reached with the Emirates to provide that country with a military base in Berbera.
The Horn Diplomat report does not specify which UAE counterparts signed the agreement, nor does it provide details on the terms, process, value, scope, or timeline of the Berbera corridor and new airport projects.
No primary agreement document or official UAE or Somaliland government statement is provided by the source. The report does not state whether the agreement has been ratified, funded, or implemented, and it gives no information on what has happened since the signing on July 3, 2017.
Given these gaps, the status of the Berbera corridor and airport projects cannot be assessed from the Horn Diplomat report alone. It is unclear whether they have progressed beyond the signing stage, and no contracts, budgets, or construction schedules are disclosed.