Ex-president challenges Farmajo to shake foreign policy amid wrangles with Kenya

MOGADISHU, Somalia - For the sake of stability, Mogadishu has to change and shape her foreign policy, former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said, adding that such policies should be drafted without emotions for the country to compete favourably in the international arena.

The UPD party presidential candidate, who attended a debate forum in the capital early this week within the capital said Somalia’s international standing must be guided by a vibrant, open and tolerant foreign policy.

“Since we are not self-sufficient and in need of international assistance, we need, at the very least, a very stable foreign policy, a lot of tolerance, openness, acceptance and respect,” Mohamud said.

“We need to come together, and our foreign policy should not be based on emotions," added Sheikh Mohamud, who is actually the immediate Somali president, having lost to Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo in 2017.

Such a policy, Sheikh Mohamud said, will help Somalia to engage favourably and competitively at the global stage. He warned against a foreign policy based on emotions noting, “The harder you have to make international friends, the harder it is for you to get international support, the harder you have to intervene, the more difficult it is to survive.”

He noted that the outgoing administration of President Mohamed Farmaajo had exposed the country to international meddling for failing to handle domestic affairs.

"Mishandling the internal affairs of the country influences the meddling in our affairs by foreign countries, hence the need to encourage reconciliation and understanding among the Somali people," he added.

His remarks echo accusations by opposition groups against Farmaajo that he was damaging ties with Kenya for purposes of influencing local support for re-election.’ Kenya, which has witnessed a fair share of challenges with Somalia, has refuted such allegations.

The Federal Government has been at loggerheads with Kenya in the last one month going to the extent of severing ties on grounds that Nairobi was interfering with the country’s internal affairs.

Attempts to have the regional bloc IGAD reprimand Kenya, however, failed Sunday after the eight-member group steered clear of the disputes. Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed Abdirizak, however, said the two countries were requested to resolve the matter at a bilateral level.

GAROWE ONLINE