Qatar pledges support for Somalia amid UAE tensions

DOHA: Qatar’s Emir held talks on Monday with the Somali president in Doha and pledged support for the East African country, amid tensions between the two countries and the UAE. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said that the relationship between Qatar and Somalia was one of "brotherhood and mutual respect".

"Qatar will continue to support the unity, stability, sovereignty and well-being of the people of Somalia," he wrote on Twitter. The meeting between the Emir and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed comes at a particularly sensitive time. Qatar is fast approaching the first anniversary of an entrenched political dispute, which has seen it isolated by neighbouring former allies including the UAE.