MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Somali government has vehemently denied Kenyan government’s claims regarding existence of maritime dispute talks arbitrated by his Djibouti counterpart, Ismail Omar.
Addressing Somali parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs in Mogadishu, Ali Balcad, the country’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs said his government was shocked by remarks of President William Ruto in Djibouti while in Djibouti.
“We all understand that the maritime dispute was settled by the International Court of Justice. President Ruto was perhaps referring to the remaining process of how to implement the Court ruling,” Balcad told the committee.
Last Month, President Ruto while addressing the National Assembly of Djibouti, thanked Ismail Omar for “mobilising effective consensus among IGAD members.
“I also appreciate Djibouti in leading the fact-finding mission to assist in the resolution of the maritime dispute with our friendly neighbour (Somalia). Your efforts have been a tremendous source of comfort to us,” Ruto said.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined in a long ruling in October 2021 that a disputed maritime boundary between Somalia and Kenya should be altered in a way that gives Somalia rights over the majority of an oil-rich portion of the Indian Ocean.
Kenya’s then-president Uhuru Kenyatta declared that his country “rejects in totality and does not recognise the findings in the decision.”
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