Somalia is recovering from Farmajo

Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, commonly known by his nickname of Farmajo, did not directly participate in the negotiations that led to the deal that is supposed to end the country's electoral impasse. 

Elections have been delayed because of his wish to cling to power causing a political impasse that has led to a division between the country's federal government and some of its member states on the way forward.

Farmajo has always been a spoiler & will remain one until the last day. It's a chance for PM Roble to show that he is free from Farmajo's negative influence.

The agreement, that would allow elections within 60 days, was an outcome of the summit convened by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, after months of escalating tension between the political factions in Somalia.

The members of the Security Council welcomed the commitment to “hold peaceful, transparent, inclusive, and credible elections, which respect the agreed-upon minimum 30% women’s quota in parliament”.

On the other hand, the significant financial and political investments made by Qatar in support of the outgoing president have done little to reshape the strategic calculations of country's policymakers. 

The Somali people tend to have negative views of Qatar-Turkey's interventions in their affairs. Policymakers have only accepted Qatari financial support to better achieve their own objectives.

In February, when Somalia was plunged into a political crisis after elections were delayed, Qatar and Turkey, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo’s most loyal backers, chose to distance themselves from him. 

Doha’s outreach to Somali opposition leaders and to Somaliland in May 2021 demonstrated this more cautious approach.

Despite this, Qatar’s influence in solving the Somali political crisis remained limited, and its efforts the same month to mediate a maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya ended up in failure.

Qatar's objectives in the Horn are quite different from other Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and Emirates of stability and sustainable development in the region.