Somalia says diplomatic dispute between embassies in Kenya, Tanzania resolved
Mogadishu (Somali Report) — Somalia’s foreign ministry has resolved a rare public dispute between its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the state minister for foreign affairs said Saturday.
Mogadishu (Somali Report) — Somalia’s foreign ministry has resolved a rare public dispute between its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the state minister for foreign affairs said Saturday.
State Minister Ali Omar Balcad said the disagreement, which erupted last year and drew unusual public statements from the two missions, has been settled following an internal review ordered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The issue between the two embassies has been resolved,” Balcad said in an interview. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed an advisory committee made up of former ambassadors to investigate the matter.”
The dispute dates back to September 2025, when the Somali Embassy in Tanzania issued a statement criticizing a visit by Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The embassy described the trip as a breach of diplomatic norms and an intrusion into its responsibilities.
Somalia’s ambassador to Tanzania, Ilyas Ali Hassan, also serves as the country’s nonresident ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and as Somalia’s representative to the East African Community, a role that was central to the disagreement.
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The Somali Embassy in Kenya rejected the criticism at the time, saying the Kinshasa visit was intended to strengthen trade relations and promote opportunities for Somali businesspeople operating across the region.
Balcad said both ambassadors were summoned to meet with the advisory committee, which later issued recommendations to the ministry. He did not disclose the details of those recommendations.
The minister expressed regret over the incident, describing it as an institutional failure rather than a personal one.
“It was unfortunate that this mistake happened, but we have learned from it, and we hope it will not happen again,” he said, adding that the episode exposed gaps in training and internal guidance within Somalia’s diplomatic service.
Balcad said the ministry is taking steps to improve internal coordination and prevent similar disputes in the future, warning that public conflicts between Somali diplomatic missions risk undermining the country’s credibility abroad.
“This is something that could have turned into a major diplomatic scandal,” he said. “We are determined to ensure it does not happen again.”
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