Mogadishu's Rising Role as a Geopolitical Chessboard

Mogadishu's Rising Role as a Geopolitical Chessboard

Defence Alliances:

1. Somalia-UAE 🇦🇪: 

Defence Cooperation Agreement

2. Somalia-Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦: Security and Defence Agreement

3. Somalia-Ethiopia 🇪🇹: Defence Cooperation Agreement

4. Somalia-USA 🇺🇸: Defence Agreement

5. Somalia-Turkey 🇹🇷: Defence Cooperation (Ratified by both nations)

6. Somalia-Uganda 🇺🇬: Defence Cooperation Agreement

7. Somalia-Eritrea 🇪🇷: Defence Cooperation Agreement

8. Somalia-Egypt 🇪🇬: Defence Cooperation Agreement

Analysis:

Somalia's strategy of entering into multiple defense agreements with various countries, each possessing distinct and often conflicting interests, signifies a complex and potentially risky diplomatic maneuver. Aligning with powerful regional players such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey—all competing for dominance in the Horn of Africa—could inevitably drag Somalia into their geopolitical quarrels.

Furthermore, forming defense pacts with rival nations like Egypt, Eritrea, and Ethiopia—who share fraught histories—might sow discord within Somalia's own government and military forces. The inclusion of a global superpower like the USA only adds another layer of complexity, positioning Somalia in the midst of broader international tensions.

The overarching consequence of these alliances is that Somalia risks becoming a proxy battleground for larger geopolitical conflicts. Balancing these diverse relationships is a diplomatic tightrope that could strain the nation’s foreign relations and test its sovereignty. Any mismanagement could destabilize Somalia’s internal stability, underscoring the delicate nature of its current foreign policy path.