UN to Intervene in Kenya-Somalia Maritime Dispute, Kenya Foreign Minister

NAIROBI (Somaliland.com) – United Nations (UN) will intervene in the disputed between Somalia and Kenya on Maritime, Kenyan foreign ministry said.

Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Monica Juma said in an interview with a local radio station that her country sought the intervention of-United Nations to resolve the diplomatic raw between Somalia and Kenya.

She said the country was open to negotiations to find an amicable solution to the maritime dispute with Somalia as soon as possible to avert further diplomatic dispute.

“The message we’ve received from across the world is an encouragement to resolve the matter amicably, and therefore this is the process that we would prefer,” she said.

The minister has called on the Somali government to come at the negotiation table to resolve the issues.

“We are committed to resolving any disputes in a negotiated manner, and we’re hoping that we’ll find the solution to the problem between ourselves and our brothers next door because our destinies are interlinked,” Juma stated.

The sentiment of the minister came at the time when Somalia and Kenya diplomatic relations are getting worse following an allegation that Somalia had auctioned oil blocks at the disputed maritime boundary, a claim that Somali government denied.

Somalia said that it is ready and willing to cooperate with Kenya in finding an amicable solution to the crisis that has caused a diplomatic tiff between the two countries.

“Somalia is not now offering, nor does it have any plans to offer, any blocks in the disputed maritime area until the ICJ decides the parties’ maritime boundary,” the country’s foreign ministry in said.

Kenya and Somalia had had a protracted dispute over a maritime boundary which escalated in 2014 when Somalia sued Kenya at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.