(Corrects title of former national security adviser, para 25)
By Maggie Fick
Nairobi(Reuters) - A battle for access to seaports is underway in one of the world's unlikeliest places: Somalia, now caught up in a regional struggle between Saudi Arabiaand the United Arab Emirateson one side, with Qatarbacked by Turkeyon the other.
At stake: not just the busy waters off the Somali Coastbut the future stability of the country itself.
Somaliahas been at war for decades and until the last few years it has struggled to attract foreign investment. But rivalries in the nearby Arabian Peninsulaare resulting in serious inflows into Somalia
A year ago, a company owned by the United Arab Emiratesgovernment signed a $336 million contract to expand the port of Bosaso, north of Mogadishuin the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland
Less than a year before that, another UAE-owned firm took control of the Berbera Portin the breakaway northern region of Somalilandand pledged up to $440 million to develop it. In March, Ethiopiatook a stake in the port for an undisclosed sum.
At the same time, Turkey, an ally of UAE rival Qatar, is ramping up a multi-billion dollar investment push in Somalia A Turkish company has run the Mogadishuport since 2014, while other Turkish firms have built roads, schools, and hospitals.
The rivalries have intensified since June, when the most powerful Arab states, led by Saudi Arabiaand including the UAE, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting Iranand Islamist militants.
That Middle Eastern feud is driving the desire to control the Horn of Africaand its waters, according to diplomats, businessmen, scholars and Somali officials.
Somaliais close to vital Oil Routesand its ports could also serve landlocked Ethiopia, which has a population of 100 million.
Gulf nations have had trade and religious ties with Somaliafor centuries, but those relationships are now up in the air as new rivalries emerge.
"Somaliahas been caught in the middle of this effort to try to expand influence, commercial and military, along the coast," said Rob Malley, Presidentof the International Crisis Group, a think-tank.
Saudi Arabiaand the UAE increasingly view the Somali coastline - and Djiboutiand Eritreato the north - as their "western security flank", according to a Senior Western Diplomatin the Horn of Africaregion.
Qatarand Turkey, whose investments are almost all in Mogadishu, are focussed on supporting PresidentMohamed Abdullahi Mohamed He and his Chief Of Staffare widely viewed in Somaliaand by western diplomats as loyal to Dohaafter receiving funds for their 2017 election campaign.
A Qatari Officialtold ReutersDohahad provided $385 million in infrastructure, education and humanitarian assistance to the central Somali Government
The Officialsaid making deals directly with regional governments in Somalia, as the UAE has done, undermined the Central Government
Somali Financeminister Abdirahman Duale Beilehagreed.
"The Gulf region has a lot of money and if they want to invest in Somaliawe welcome them with open arms," he told Reuters "But it's a question of going through the right doors."
The federal government in Mogadishuhas long been at odds with the semi-autonomous regions of Puntlandand Somaliland The latter operates virtually as an independent state and has for years sought to secede from Somalia, but has not won international recognition.
DETRIMENTAL EFFECT
Less than a decade ago there was virtually no commercial interest in Somalia
That began to change in 2011 when al Qaeda-backed Al Shabaabmilitants retreated from Mogadishu Months later, Turkeylaunched famine relief operations, opening the door for projects that now make it Somalia's biggest foreign investor.
The government hopes new investment, especially in infrastructure, can help the country rebuild.
Better tax collection is boosting government revenues, but this only covers public sector salaries. Huge amounts of capital are needed for roads, schools and other basics. Middle Eastern companies and charities could provide some of it.
However, the money could also destabilise the country further by deepening tensions between the central government, aligned with Turkeyand Qatar, and Puntlandand Somaliland, which both receive money from the UAE.
"These investments are having a detrimental effect on our political stability and worsening the relationship between our federal government and the regions," said former National Security AdviserHussein Sheikh-ali
"This could cause a constitutional crisis that only Al Shabaabwill benefit from."
The Gulf crisis has already deepened rifts in Somalia The Central Governmenthas stayed neutral, to the annoyance of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which Puntlandand Somalilandhave backed against Qatar
"Getting out of this mess is very difficult," Sheikh-Ali said. "Without unity we cannot."
The Somali presidency and the Uae Governmentdid not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Western nations fear the Gulf rivalries playing out in Somaliacould sideline their multi-billion dollar, U.N.-led efforts to build a functional Somali Armyto fight Shabaab before the withdrawal of African Unionpeacekeepers in 2020.
Political crises between Mogadishuand the regional authorities are undermining government efforts to strengthen Financial Systemsand embark on other core tasks of a state, diplomats say.
TROUBLE
The Gulf rivalry is also being felt on the ground in Somalia
In mid-April, Somaliaand the UAE ended military cooperation. Since 2014, the UAE had trained and paid the salaries of Somali troops in Mogadishuand built an anti-piracy force in Puntland Hundreds of weapons were looted from the training centre in Mogadishuas it shut down.
This came after Somali security forces seized nearly $10 million flown in from the UAE to pay soldiers and temporarily held the plane which brought the cash. The UAE also closed a hospital that offered free care.
Last week Puntlandofficials travelled to Dubaito meet UAE counterparts and P&O, the state firm developing its port.
"Investing millions of dollars in Somaliaat this critical juncture in history is very important for us," PuntlandPresidentAbdiweli Mohamed Alisaid.
Similarly, Somalilandofficials hosted UAE diplomats last week to discuss "enhancing bilateral ties".
"For Somalis themselves, this kind of geopolitical game of chess, where Somaliais solely a proxy conflict to the trouble in the Gulf, this is obviously bad news," said Harry Verhoeven, Professorat Georgetown Universityin Qatar
(Additional reporting by Noah Browning, Alexander Cornwelland Ghaida Ghantousin Dubai, Abdiqani Hassan in Bosaso, Somalia, and Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu; Editing by Ed Cropleyand Giles Elgood)
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)