News24
14 Jun 2021, 23:41 GMT+10
Kenya said Monday it will honour Somalia's invitation to restore diplomatic ties and reopen its embassy in Mogadishu, marking a thaw in the often-tense relations between the Horn of Africa neighbours.
Ties between the countries were severed on 15 December after Kenya hosted the leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state not recognised by the central government in Mogadishu.
Somalia's foreign minister, Abdirizak Mohamed, on 12 June wrote to his Kenyan counterpart offering to resume full diplomatic ties "in the spirit of good neighbourliness".
Kenya's foreign ministry responded in a statement Monday, saying, "it welcomes and acknowledges the invitation by the federal government of Somalia to restore diplomatic relations" and that it would reopen its embassy in Mogadishu "as soon as possible".
It added that Somalia's ambassador to Kenya was also invited to resume duties in Nairobi.
Somalia last month signalled its intention to resume ties with Kenya, but detente stalled after Kenya a few days later banned flights between the capitals without explanation.
READ | Somalia cuts ties with Kenya, shots fired at Mogadishu protests
The flights have since resumed.
Somalia has long bristled at what it calls Kenya's meddling in regions over its border, while Nairobi has accused Mogadishu of using it as a scapegoat for its own political problems.
The neighbours are also engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a potentially resource-rich stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations.
The dispute reached its nadir in early 2019 when Kenya recalled its ambassador after Somalia decided to unilaterally auction oil and gas blocks.
Get a daily dose of Johannesburg Life news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Johannesburg Life.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: After months of warnings from former federal officials and weather experts, the deadly flash floods that struck the...
MOSCOW, Russia: Just hours after his sudden dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's former transport minister, Roman Starovoit,...
DHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...
ZAGREB, Croatia: A massive concert by popular Croatian singer Marko Perković, known by his stage name Thompson, has drawn widespread...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Elon Musk's entry into the political arena is drawing pushback from top U.S. officials and investors, as his decision...
CULVER CITY, California: TikTok is preparing to roll out a separate version of its app for U.S. users, as efforts to secure a sale...
Windhoek [Namibia], July 10 (ANI): Hailing the relations between India and Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the ties...
Windhoek [Namibia], July 10 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday highlighted that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's...
Windhoek [Namibia], July 10 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's references to cricket during his address to the joint session of...
Windhoek [Namibia], July 9 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his five-nation tour and departed for New Delhi on Wednesday,...
Windhoek [Namibia], July 9 (ANI): India on Wednesday offered a Line of Credit (LOC) to Namibia, specifically to facilitate the purchase...
Windhoek [Namibia], July 9 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday confirmed a licensing agreement between India and Namibia...