After months of intense tension that saw ties between Kenya and Somalia plummet to a historic low, there is renewed hope that the neighbours could mend ties for mutual benefit.

Signs of restoration of full diplomatic relations were evident last week when the respective Foreign ministers spoke on phone and resolved to resolve the diplomatic impasse. Raychelle Omamo and Somalia’s Mohamed Abdirizak Mohamud not only affirmed the need to expeditiously reopen the two missions, they also expressed a strong desire to improve trade, security and cultural ties.

The talks are a welcome gesture after Mogadishu severed diplomatic ties last December, accusing Nairobi of meddling in its internal affairs. But there’s a need to defuse the tension and engage in the talks in good faith to overcome the outstanding issues.

Kenya deserves some credit for the restraint and sobriety it has shown in the face of open provocation and frustration. Whereas both countries recalled their ambassadors, Kenya did not sever diplomatic ties with Somalia, leaving room for talks.

A lasting solution

Arguably, the lack of reciprocation by Somalia despite costly support by Kenya in the Somali peace process paints it as an ungrateful and belligerent neighbour. Somalia will have to maintain its current temperance if a lasting solution is to be realised, particularly with regard to the long-running maritime territorial feud over a section of Indian Ocean believed to hold valuable oil and gas reserves.

Somalia has reneged on a memorandum of understanding delimiting the maritime border in 2009, taking advantage of the fact that it does not bar either party from escalating the dispute with the ICJ. Further, it is opined that ICJ judge and then-president Abdulqawi Yusuf, a Somali, is likely to influence the case in favour of his country.

The ICJ being a court of last resort, Mogadishu should have exhausted other dispute resolution mechanisms before rushing to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Ideally, international norms are predisposed towards settlement of inter-state disputes through talks to promote sustainable peace and avoid straining diplomatic ties.

Maritime disputes

In fact, most maritime disputes have been ironed out through negotiations, a case in point being the current dispute between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire regarding their border in the Atlantic Ocean.

In the unlikely event that ICJ rules for Somalia, it will open a plethora of disputes in Africa and claims for redrawing of maritime borders for Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa.

But the maritime dispute need not be a zero-sum calculus. Whichever way the ICJ rules, it’s likely that some oil reserves straddle the maritime border and will need resource-sharing pacts. Somalia should, therefore, avoid escalating the dispute needlessly.

The international community should support the talks for sustainable regional peace and stability.

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