Foreign relations of Somalia are handled primarily by the President as the head of state, the Prime Minister as the head of government, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Government.
According to Article 54 of the national constitution, the allocation of powers and resources between the Federal Government and the Federal Republic of Somalia's constituent Federal Member States shall be negotiated and agreed upon by the Federal Government and the Federal Member States, except in matters pertaining to foreign affairs, national defense, citizenship and immigration, and monetary policy. Article 53 also stipulates that the Federal Government shall consult the Federal Member States on major issues related to international agreements, including negotiations vis-a-vis foreign trade, finance and treaties.
Somaliland is an unrecognised de facto sovereign state that maintains consulate-level informal relations with some foreign governments.
Diplomatic relations List of countries which Somalia maintains diplomatic relations with:
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Bilateral relations Africa Country Formal Relations BeganNotesSee Djibouti–Somalia relations
As the headquarters of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development regional body, Djibouti has been an active participant in the Somali peace process. It hosted the Arta conference in 2000, as well as the 2008-2009 talks between the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia, which led to the formation of a coalition government. In 2011, Djibouti joined the African Union Mission to Somalia. Following the establishment of the Federal Government of Somalia in 2012, a Djibouti delegation also attended the inauguration ceremony of Somalia's new president.See Egypt–Somalia relations
Relations between the territories of present-day Egypt and Somalia stretch back to antiquity. In the Middle Ages and early modern era, the various Somali Sultanates also maintained close relations with their counterparts in Egypt.P. L. Shinnie, The African Iron Age, (Clarendon Press: 1971), p.135
During the ensuing colonial period, Egypt and Somalia kept close ties through the UN delegate to Somalia Kamal El Din Salah, who supported the territorial integrity of the Somali territories. Upon independence of the Somali Republic in 1960, Egypt was among the first nations to recognize the nascent country. It subsequently invested heavily in the education sector, with Cairo's Al-Azhar University leading scholastic and Muslim missions in Mogadishu, among other areas. In 1969, Somalia and Egypt were among the founding members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Both nations are also members of the League of Arab States.
After the start of the civil war in Somalia in 1991, Egypt maintained diplomatic relations with the Transitional National Government and its successor the Transitional Federal Government, and supported their state-building initiatives. As part of the International Contact Group, the Egyptian authorities participated in various global summits in support of the Somali peace process, including the Khartoum Conference in 2006, the Djibouti Conference in 2008, and the Cairo Conference in 2010. It also organized diplomatic training for Somali government officials in conjunction with the Somali Institute for Diplomatic Studies.
The subsequent establishment of the Federal Government of Somalia in August 2012 was welcomed by the Egyptian authorities, who re-affirmed Egypt's continued support for Somalia's government, its territorial integrity and sovereignty.See Ethiopia–Somalia relations
Relations between the peoples of Somalia and Ethiopia stretch back to antiquity, to a common origin. The Ethiopian region is one of the proposed homelands of the Horn of Africa's various Afro-Asiatic communities.
During the Middle Ages, Somali Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (Ahmad Gurey or Gragn) led a Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh al-Habash), which brought three-quarters of the Christian Ethiopian Empire under the power of the Muslim Adal Sultanate.Saheed A. Adejumobi, The History of Ethiopia, (Greenwood Press: 2006), p.178Encyclopædia Britannica, inc, Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 1, (Encyclopædia Britannica: 2005), p.163 With an army mainly composed of Somalis,John L. Esposito, editor, The Oxford History of Islam, (Oxford University Press: 2000), p. 501 Many historians trace the origins of tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia to this war.David D. Laitin and Said S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of a State (Boulder: Westview Press, 1987).
In the 1960s and 1970s, a territorial dispute over the Ogaden region led to various armed confrontations between the Somali and Ethiopian militaries. The tensions culminated in the Ogaden War, which saw the Somali army capture most of the disputed territory by September 1977, before finally being expelled by a coalition of communist forces.
With changes in leadership in the early 1990s brought on by the start of the Somali Civil War and Ethiopian Civil War, respectively, relations between the Somali and Ethiopian authorities entered a new phase of military cooperation against the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) rebel group and its more radical successor Al-Shabaab. In October 2011, a coordinated multinational operation began against Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia; the Ethiopian military eventually joined the Transitional Federal Government-led mission the following month.
The Federal Government of Somalia was later established on August 20, 2012, representing the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war. The following month, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected as the new Somali government's first President, with the Ethiopian authorities welcoming his selection and newly appointed Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn attending Mohamud's inauguration ceremony.See Kenya–Somalia relations
Relations between Kenya and Somalia have historically been tense. Agitations over self-determination in the Somali-inhabited Northern Frontier District culminated in the Shifta War during the 1960s.Rhoda E. Howard, Human Rights in Commonwealth Africa, (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.: 1986), p.95 Although the conflict ended in a cease-fire, Somalis in the region still identify and maintain close ties with their kin in Somalia.Godfrey Mwakikagile, Kenya: identity of a nation, (Godfrey Mwakikagile: 2007), p.79.
In October 2011, a coordinated operation between the Somali military and the Kenyan military began against the Al-Shabaab group of insurgents in southern Somalia. The mission was officially led by the Somali army, with the Kenyan forces providing a support role. In early June 2012, Kenyan troops were formally integrated into AMISOM.
Asia Country Formal Relations Began NotesSee China–Somalia relations
Relations between the territories of present-day Somalia and China date back to antiquity, when communities in both regions engaged in commercial exchanges.
On 14 December 1960, formal ties between the Somali and Chinese governments were established. Somalia and China later signed their first official trade agreement in June 1963.
During the Cold War period, the Somali government maintained active relations with its Chinese counterpart. The Somali authorities campaigned for an end to China's diplomatic isolation and supported instead its entry into the United Nations.
In January 1991, the Chinese embassy in Mogadishu closed down operations due to the start of the civil war in Somalia. Despite the departure of most Chinese officials, the two countries maintained a small trading relationship in the ensuing years. Total trade volume in 2002 was US$3.39 million, with Somalia exporting US$1.56 million of goods to China and importing $1.83 million.
From 2000 to 2011, approximately seven Chinese development projects were launched in Somalia.Austin Strange, Bradley C. Parks, Michael J. Tierney, Andreas Fuchs, Axel Dreher, and Vijaya Ramachandran. 2013. China's Development Finance to Africa: A Media-Based Approach to Data Collection. CGD Working Paper 323. Washington DC: Center for Global Development. These initiatives included $6 million in economic assistance, donation of anti-malaria drugs, and $3 million in debt relief.
In July 2007, the Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC also signed an oil exploration agreement with the Somali government over the north-central Mudug province, situated in the autonomous Puntland region.
Following the establishment of the Federal Government of Somalia in mid-2012, the Chinese authorities reaffirmed their support for the Somali government and called on the international community to strengthen its commitment to the Somali peace process. China's Permanent Representative to the UN, Li Baodong, also emphasized his administration's support for the Somali federal government's stabilization plan, including the latter's efforts at "implementing an interim Constitution, carrying out its six-point plan, strengthening institutional capacity, exercising government functions and extending effective authority over all its national territory."
In August 2013, follow a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, Somalia's Foreign Minister Fowziya Yusuf Haji Adan announced that the Somali authorities looked forward to cooperation with the Chinese government in the energy, infrastructure, national security and agriculture sectors, among others. Wang also praised the traditional friendship between both nations and re-affirmed China's commitment to the Somali peace process. In September 2013, both governments signed an official cooperation agreement in Mogadishu as part of a five-year national recovery plan in Somalia. The pact will see the Chinese authorities reconstruct several major infrastructural landmarks in the Somali capital and elsewhere, including the National Theatre, a hospital, and the Mogadishu Stadium, as well as the road between Galkayo and Burao in northern Somalia.
In October 2014, the Chinese government also officially re-opened its embassy in Mogadishu. In December 2014, Wei Hongtian presented his credentials to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to Somalia. He is the first such envoy after the reopening of the Chinese embassy in Mogadishu. Foreign Minister of Somalia Abdirahman Duale Beyle and Ambassador Wei subsequently held a joint press conference, wherein the officials pledged to further strengthen bilateral ties. As part of the local reconstruction process, Wei also indicated that the Chinese authorities were slated to implement various development projects in Somalia.See Japan–Somalia relations
Prior to 1991 and the start of the civil war, the Somali authorities maintained bilateral relations with the government of Japan. The Japanese administration subsequently pledged development funds through various international organizations. With the formation of the Federal Government of Somalia in 2012, the Japanese government re-established formal diplomatic ties with the Somali authorities. In 2013, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe also announced that Japan would resume direct assistance to Somalia, particularly in the areas of security, industrial development, and bilateral trade and investment.
In January 2014, Japan appointed Tatsushi Terada as the new Japanese Ambassador to Somalia, replacing Atoshisa Takata. Ambassador Terada concurrently presented his credentials to the Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at a ceremony in Mogadishu.13 April 1967See North Korea–Somalia relations