UAE expands African investments while building joint military base in Somaliland

During 2022 and 2023 the United Arab Emirates announced a $97 billion investment package covering ports, energy, mining, agriculture, communications, manufacturing and real estate across Africa, positioning it as the continent’s largest new funder and potentially overtaking China’s portfolio. While the UAE has celebrated projects such as solar farms in Zambia and tourist sites in Egypt, it is also deepening its security presence in conflict zones like Sudan and the breakaway region of Somaliland.

In 2016 the emirate funded a $442 million container port in Berbera, and last year it began constructing a secretive military base that will accommodate Emirati, United States and Israeli forces. This move follows the UAE’s official recognition of Somaliland in 2025 and is intended to bolster its reach into nearby Yemen, where a Saudi-backed government recently crushed the Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council. Israel sees the base as a platform against Yemen’s Houthis, while the United States hopes to replace its Djibouti installation, which has allowed China to establish a foothold in the region.