Kenya and Somalia agreed to restore ties on Thursday after a months-long spat over oil rights that led the neighbours to halt the issuance of visas on arrival for each otherโs citizens.
The two East African nations โagreed to normalise bilateral relationsโ beginning with the restoration of the visa policy, Kenyaโs presidency said on Twitter late on Thursday.
The oil rights dispute is linked to the nationsโ maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean, subject of a long-running case before the International Court of Justice that Somalia filed against Kenya in 2014.
Tensions escalated early this year when Kenya recalled its ambassador to Somalia after the Mogadishu government decided to auction the oil and gas exploration blocks at the centre of the maritime territorial dispute. Somalia denied the accusation. [L5N20C0I7]
The statement on the Kenya presidencyโs Twitter did not reference the oil dispute. It included a photo of the presidents of the two countries shaking hands.
Somalia has not commented.
REUTERS