Saudi Arabia reopens embassy in Somalia

Saudi Arabia has reopened its embassy in the Somali capital Mogadishu more than three decades after the country closed its diplomatic mission in the Horn of African nation.

The foreign Ministry applauded the efforts of the Somali government to facilitate the procedures of reopening the embassy in its capital Mogadishu. Saudi Arabia said it looks forward to promoting cooperation with Somalia for the common interests of the people of the two countries.

A Saudi diplomatic delegation visited Somalia in June, where it discussed preparations for reopening the embassy that has been operating from neighbouring Kenya for years.

Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in 1990 after heavily armed militias toppled the government by Siyad Barre, plunging the country into a bloody civil war that claimed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions from their homes.