Mogadishu, Somalia — Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali held virtual talks Monday with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Hyun, as Mogadishu continues an aggressive diplomatic campaign to bolster international support for its territorial integrity.
The discussions focused on deepening bilateral ties and the strategic role of South Korean naval assets in the Gulf of Aden, a critical waterway for global trade currently plagued by regional volatility and Houthi insurgent activity.
"The South Korean Foreign Minister reaffirmed his country's full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia," the Somali foreign ministry said in a statement.
The meeting comes as Somalia lobbies global partners to reject recent challenges to its borders. Tensions in the Horn of Africa have spiked following Israel's recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland and Ethiopia's pursuit of a Red Sea naval base via a deal with Hargeisa--moves Mogadishu has denounced as "illegal" and a "flagrant violation" of its sovereignty.
South Korea, which maintains a permanent naval presence in the region via the Cheonghae Unit to protect its shipping from piracy, emphasized its commitment to the principle of non-interference.
Somalia, which assumed a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council on January 1, has been utilizing its new diplomatic weight to secure "unequivocal" affirmations of its internationally recognized borders from key Asian and Middle Eastern powers.
