Russia–Somalia relations (russian: Российско-сомалийские отношения) is the bilateral relationship between

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. A Somali Embassy currently operates in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Russia's embassy in Djibouti represents Russia in Somalia.

History

Early relations

Diplomatic relations between the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and

were established on September 11, 1960.. In June 1961, an agreement was signed on cultural cooperation between the countries. In 1962, the first military contacts took place, with 50 military personnel from Somalia being sent to get

military education in the Soviet Union There existed an evolved system of military education in the Soviet Union that covered a wide range of ages. The Soviet Armed Forces had many tri-service educational opportunities as well as educational institutions for the Ground Forces, the Air ...

. At the same time, the USSR provided Somalia with a loan of $32 million to modernize and increase the size of the

Somali National Army The Somali National Army ( Somali: ''Xooga Dalka Soomaaliyeed,'' lit. ''"Somali Ground Forces"'') is the ground forces component of the Somali Armed Forces, and is the largest out of the three service branches that make up the majority of the A ...

. The Soviets also assisted in humanitarian work, helping the Barre government address the ''Abaartii Dabadheer''

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

in the northern regions of the country (specifically in the

Hobyo Hobyo (; so, Hobyo), is an ancient port city in Galmudug state in the north-central Mudug region of Somalia. Hobyo was founded as a coastal outpost by the Ajuran Empire during the 13th century.Lee V. Cassanelli, ''The shaping of Somali society: ...

and

Caynaba Aynaba, also spelt Ainabo, Ainaba or Aynabo ( so, Caynaba, ) is a major town in western Sool region of Somaliland as well as the administrative seat of the Aynaba District. Aynaba is known for its watering wells and for its good and abundant fres ...

regions), airlifting around 90,000 people from the devastated regions. On July 11, 1974, the USSR and Somalia signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation for a period of 20 years.

Soviet-Somali split

After the beginning of the

Ogaden War The Ogaden War, or the Ethio-Somali War (, am, የኢትዮጵያ ሶማሊያ ጦርነት, ye’ītiyop’iya somalīya t’orineti), was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the Ethiopi ...

against

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, a Soviet ally, relations between the countries were severed. In November 1977, the President

Siad Barre Mohamed Siad Barre ( so, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: ; ar, محمد سياد بري; c. 1910 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali head of state and general who served as the 3rd president of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 199 ...

announced the termination of the 1974 Soviet-Somali Friendship Treaty. Barre subsequently expelled all Soviet advisers, and personally switched allegiance from the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

to the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

, particularly the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.Gorman, Robert F. (1981). Political Conflict on the Horn of Africa. Westport, CT: Praeger. . p.208 In 1978, Barre railed against Soviet influence in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

at a summit of the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

Modern era

Currently, Russian-Somali relations are at a very low level, with Russia having sent humanitarian aid to Somalia several times. In May 2010, Somalia warned that relations with Russia may be harmed over the

MV Moscow University hijacking On 5 May 2010, Somali pirates hijacked , a Liberian-flagged Russian tanker, in the Gulf of Aden. Her crew was freed by the Russian Navy destroyer the following day. Hijacking The Russian tanker MV ''Moscow University'' (russian: link=no, ...

, after which Somalia's government demanded an apology from the Russian government. On 19 April 2016, Somali Prime Minister

Omar Sharmarke Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke (; so, Cumar Cabdirashiid Cali Sharmaarke, ar, عمر شرماركي) (born 18 June 1960), popularly known as Omar Sharmarke, is a Somali diplomat and politician. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Prime Minister of Som ...

held a bilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister

Sergei Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (russian: Сергей Викторович Лавров, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat and politician who has served as the Foreign Minister of Russia since 2004. Lavrov served as the Permanent Represe ...

, where he requested Russian assistance to strengthen the

Somali Armed Forces The Somali Armed Forces are the military forces of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Headed by the president as commander-in-chief, they are constitutionally mandated to ensure the nation's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Ch ...

in the fight against terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. In January 2018,

Deputy Prime Minister of Russia A Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (russian: Заместитель председателя Правительства Российской Федерации) is a member of the Government of Russia. The post is com ...

Arkady Dvorkovich Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (russian: Арка́дий Влади́мирович Дворко́вич; born 26 March 1972) is a Russian politician and economist, who was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 May 2012 ...

met with

Hassan Ali Khaire Hassan Ali Khaire (or alternatively transliterated as Hassan Ali Khayre, so, Xasan Cali Khayre, ar, حسن علي خيري; born 1967), popularly known as Hassan Khaire, is a Somali activist and politician and is the former Prime Minister of ...

within the framework of the Davos Economic Forum.

Ambassadors

From Somalia to Russia

Mohamed Ibrahim Liqliiqato Mohamed Ibrahim Liqliqato (1921, Kismayo, Italian Somaliland – 1998) was a Somali military and political leader, worked as an ambassador, minister, speaker of the Parliament and was prominent figure of Siyad Barre's rule in Somalia. In 1964 L ...

(1969–1970) * Mohamed Mohamoud Handule (27 July 2007 – 2015) * Abdullahi Mohamud Warsame (since 2016)

From Russia to Somalia

* Mikhalil Golovanov (since 2019)

References

External links

Somali Embassy in Moscow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russia-Somalia relations

Russia–Somalia relations