The Arab Parliament has called on Kenya to stop meddling with Somalia territorial waters, which are an integral part of the Arab waters.
In a resolution issued during an Arab Parliament meeting in Cairo, members of the Arab League rejected Kenya’s “false pretensions to draw up a new, unfounded map, while rejecting its threats to interfere in Somalia internal affairs”.
The communication was posted by Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs through a tweet on Thursday.
“The #Arab Parliament calls on #Kenya to stop its hands on #Somali territorial waters, which are an integral part of the Arab waters, and rejects its false pretensions to draw up a new, unfounded map while rejecting its threats to interfere in #Somalia‘s internal affairs,” @MofaSomalia tweeted.
Diplomatic relations between Kenya and Somalia severed in February, when Kenya has recalled its ambassador to Somalia after the Mogadishu government’s decision to auction oil and gas exploration blocks at the centre of a maritime territorial dispute in the Indian Ocean.
In February, Kenya through Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma said Kenya would not surrender any part of its territory.
“We will not cede an inch of Kenyan territory to any government,” Amb Juma said.
However, relations resumed in May when the respective envoys resumed their duties after mediation talks led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs PS Ambassador Macharia Kamau tweeted, “With the #Somali Ambassador in my office. Welcoming him back to Nairobi. Hoping for even better days ahead.”
However, this was bound to change after leaked Somalia government report Offshore Somalia 2019 early this month showed Mogadishu had put on auction offshore oil blocks in the contested territory off the Kenyan port of Lamu.
After six years of negotiations, Somalia in 2014 filed a case at the International Court of Justice, accusing Kenya of encroaching on 100,000sq.km of marine territory with potential oil and gas deposits in the Indian Ocean.
Kenya, on the other hand, prefers negotiations to the court process.
