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Kenya, Somalia agree to restore ties after spat over oil rights
Somalia's newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo (L) and Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta listen to speeches during the inauguration ceremony in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, February 22, 2017. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Feisal Omar
15/11/2019
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya and Somalia agreed to restore ties on Thursday after a months-long spat over oil rights that led the neighbours to halt the issuance of visas on arrival for each other's citizens.
The two East African nations "agreed to normalise bilateral relations" beginning with the restoration of the visa policy, Kenya's presidency said on Twitter late on Thursday.
The oil rights dispute is linked to the nations' maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean, subject of a long-running case before the International Court of Justice that Somalia filed against Kenya in 2014.
Tensions escalated early this year when Kenya recalled its ambassador to Somalia after the Mogadishu government decided to auction the oil and gas exploration blocks at the centre of the maritime territorial dispute. Somalia denied the accusation.
The statement on the Kenya presidency's Twitter did not reference the oil dispute. It included a photo of the presidents of the two countries shaking hands.
Somalia has not commented.
(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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