Somalia's foreign minister has invited Kenya to reopen its embassy in Mogadishu in a push to resume full diplomatic ties, in a note seen by AFP on Sunday.

Kenya's mission has been shut since December when&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;broke off relations after Nairobi hosted the leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state not recognised by the central government in Mogadishu.

The Kenyan ambassador was expelled and Mogadishu recalled its envoy from Nairobi.

On May 6,&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;said it had restored diplomatic ties with Kenya, which looked forward to "further normalisation".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-surprise-move-kenya-suspends-flights-from-somalia-384548">Also read |&nbsp;In surprise move, Kenya suspends flights from Somalia</a>

Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdirizak Mohamed wrote in a&nbsp;note dated Saturday: "In the spirit of good neighbourliness, the Federal Republic of&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;calls on the Republic of Kenya to reopen its diplomatic mission in&nbsp;Somalia, and the Federal Government of&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;will reciprocally reopen its embassy in Kenya.

"The resumption of full diplomatic relations will be a positive start to the commencement of bilateral discussions between the two countries," the minister said in the note addressed to Kenya's foreign minister.

The foreign ministry in Nairobi did not respond to AFP requests for comment on Sunday.

Somalia&nbsp;has long bristled over what it calls Kenya's meddling in regions over its border, while Nairobi has accused Mogadishu of using it as a scapegoat for its own political problems.

The neighbours have also engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations which are believed to hold valuable deposits of oil and gas, and have sought international arbitration over the matter.

The row over which nation controls access to the lucrative deposits escalated in early 2019 after&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;decided to auction off oil and gas blocks in a disputed maritime area, prompting Kenya to recall its ambassador.

Somalia's foreign minister has invited Kenya to reopen its embassy in Mogadishu in a push to resume full diplomatic ties, in a note seen by AFP on Sunday. Kenya's mission has been shut since December when Somalia broke off relations after Nairobi hosted the leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state not recognised by the central government in Mogadishu.

Somalia's foreign minister has invited Kenya to reopen its embassy in Mogadishu in a push to resume full diplomatic ties, in a note seen by AFP on Sunday. Kenya's mission has been shut since December when Somalia broke off relations after Nairobi hosted the leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state not recognised by the central government in Mogadishu. The Kenyan ambassador was expelled and Mogadishu recalled its envoy from Nairobi. On May 6, Somalia said it had restored diplomatic ties with Kenya, which looked forward to "further normalisation". Also read | In surprise move, Kenya suspends flights from Somalia Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdirizak Mohamed wrote in a note dated Saturday: "In the spirit of good neighbourliness, the Federal Republic of Somalia calls on the Republic of Kenya to reopen its diplomatic mission in Somalia, and the Federal Government of Somalia will reciprocally reopen its embassy in Kenya. "The resumption of full diplomatic relations will be a positive start to the commencement of bilateral discussions between the two countries," the minister said in the note addressed to Kenya's foreign minister. The foreign ministry in Nairobi did not respond to AFP requests for comment on Sunday. Somalia has long bristled over what it calls Kenya's meddling in regions over its border, while Nairobi has accused Mogadishu of using it as a scapegoat for its own political problems. The neighbours have also engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations which are believed to hold valuable deposits of oil and gas, and have sought international arbitration over the matter. The row over which nation controls access to the lucrative deposits escalated in early 2019 after Somalia decided to auction off oil and gas blocks in a disputed maritime area, prompting Kenya to recall its ambassador.

Somalia asks Kenya to reopen embassy in Mogadishu

Kenya&nbsp;announced Tuesday that flights between Nairobi and Mogadishu had been suspended, just days after&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;said diplomatic ties with its neighbour had been normalised following months of tensions.

The&nbsp;Kenya&nbsp;Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said commercial flights to and from&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;would be paused for three months, without giving a reason.

"All flights between&nbsp;Kenya&nbsp;and&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;are suspended expect medevac flights and United Nations flights on humanitarian missions only," the regulator said.

KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe told AFP the suspension was "a decision by the government" but gave no further details.

The directive appeared to catch some Somali aviation officials and travel agents by surprise.

"We had not been given a prior notice, and there's been no explanation about the reason so far," an airport tower operator in Mogadishu told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The suspension comes a day after&nbsp;Somalia&nbsp;said shipments of khat from&nbsp;Kenya&nbsp;remained on hold. Khat is a narcotic leaf popular in&nbsp;Somalia.

Somalia&nbsp;announced last week that bilateral ties with&nbsp;Kenya&nbsp;had been restored, citing "the interests of good neighbourliness" as motivating its decision.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kenya-somalia-agree-to-normalise-ties-after-tensions-262304">Kenya, Somalia agree to normalise ties after tensions</a>

Nairobi said it took note of the statement and was looking forward "to further normalisation of relations by the Somali authorities."

Mogadishu cut off diplomatic relations in December after Nairobi hosted the political leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state not recognised by&nbsp;Somalia's central government.

Somalia&nbsp;has long bristled over what it calls&nbsp;Kenya's meddling in regions over its border, while Nairobi has accused Mogadishu of using it as a scapegoat for its own political problems.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/somalia-accuses-kenya-of-meddling-in-internal-affairs-350316/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The pair have also engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations believed to hold valuable deposits of oil and gas, and have sought international arbitration over the matter.

Kenya announced Tuesday that flights between Nairobi and Mogadishu had been suspended, just days after Somalia said diplomatic ties with its neighbour had been normalised following months of tensions.

Kenya announced Tuesday that flights between Nairobi and Mogadishu had been suspended, just days after Somalia said diplomatic ties with its neighbour had been normalised following months of tensions. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said commercial flights to and from Somalia would be paused for three months, without giving a reason. "All flights between Kenya and Somalia are suspended expect medevac flights and United Nations flights on humanitarian missions only," the regulator said. KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe told AFP the suspension was "a decision by the government" but gave no further details. The directive appeared to catch some Somali aviation officials and travel agents by surprise. "We had not been given a prior notice, and there's been no explanation about the reason so far," an airport tower operator in Mogadishu told AFP on condition of anonymity. The suspension comes a day after Somalia said shipments of khat from Kenya remained on hold. Khat is a narcotic leaf popular in Somalia. Somalia announced last week that bilateral ties with Kenya had been restored, citing "the interests of good neighbourliness" as motivating its decision. Also read | Kenya, Somalia agree to normalise ties after tensions Nairobi said it took note of the statement and was looking forward "to further normalisation of relations by the Somali authorities." Mogadishu cut off diplomatic relations in December after Nairobi hosted the political leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state not recognised by Somalia's central government. Somalia has long bristled over what it calls Kenya's meddling in regions over its border, while Nairobi has accused Mogadishu of using it as a scapegoat for its own political problems. The pair have also engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations believed to hold valuable deposits of oil and gas, and have sought international arbitration over the matter.

In surprise move, Kenya suspends flights from Somalia

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Somalia asks Kenya to reopen embassy in Mogadishu

In surprise move, Kenya suspends flights from Somalia