Somali government bans its officials from attending meetings in Nairobi, Kenya

- Somalia wrote to its aid partners notifying them its officials will not be available for future meetings, seminars in Nairobi

- The drastic decision was made after Kenya denied top government officials from Somalia entry into the country

- Mogadishu and Nairobi have in recent months been embroiled in a diplomatic row over oil rich maritime territory in the Indian Ocean

Somali government has written to the United Nations (UN) agencies informing them its officials will henceforth not be attending any meetings or seminars in Nairobi, including the UN-Habitat Assembly which kicked off on Monday, May 27.

This was after Kenyan Immigration officials denied Somalia's Deputy Minister for Water and Energy, Osman Libah, senators Ilyas Ali Hassan and Zamzam Dahir entry into the country and forced them to fly back to where they came from.

Somali government had penned a letter to the United Nations agencies and NGOs informing them its officials will no longer be allowed to attend meetings in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: State House.

In the terse letter dated May 25, 2019, Somalia's Ministry of Health notified its aid partners based in Nairobi to shift venues of upcoming meetings and other related functions because its staff would no longer be operating from the Kenyan capital city.

“Due to the recent travel issues to Nairobi, Kenya, the ministry informs all its partners that representatives from the ministry will not attend all planned and upcoming meetings, workshops, seminars and trainings to be held in Nairobi,” the letter read.

The Somali government suggested all future meetings be held in alternative countries other than Kenya arguing this would ease movement of its representatives.

The new development came about two days to the commencement of the UN-Habitat Assembly in Nairobi where four presidents, ministers and high-level representatives from an estimated 116 countries are expected to gather.

The UN-Habitat Assembly is the highest-level decision-making body focused on sustainable urbanisation and human settlements.

Nairobi summit seeks to frame the global urbanisation agenda, pass resolutions and provide strategic guidance to UN-Habitat in its work.

“The UN-Habitat Assembly provides a fantastic opportunity for us all to inspire each other with new ideas and examples of how we have used innovation to maximise the opportunities offered by urbanisation and overcome the challenges.

This UN-Habitat Assembly will be a driver of change ,” said UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to officially open the UN-Habitat Assembly in Nairobi on Monday.

His Somalia counterpart, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, has reportedly chosen to boycott the big summit in protest against the Kenyan government for blocking Samali's senior state officials with diplomatic passports from entering the country.

Nairobi and Mogadishu have been embroiled in ugly diplomatic spat in the recent months as the two clashed over ownership of an oil rich maritime territory in the Indian Ocean.