The release of 33 Iranian fishermen from Somalia prison

according to the report of the international group Tasnim News Agency, Gholampour The Iranian ambassador in Kenya announced that “Ali Mohammad Omar Balkad”, the sponsor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somalia, informed him that 33 Iranian fishermen and sailors who were imprisoned in Somalia have been released and are returning to our country by air.

Ali Gholampour, who is also the accredited ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Somalia, added: the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Somali government to move towards the process of restoring bilateral relations that were interrupted a few years ago , have announced their readiness.

The ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran expressed hope: the release of the sailors and fishermen of our country will strengthen the existing positive atmosphere for the resumption of bilateral relations and the path of interaction And the constructive dialogues between the two countries have been opened and the two Muslim nations of Iran and Somalia can benefit from decent and stable bilateral relations.

He also added: Setting up a fisheries cooperation agreement between the two sides is one of the important priorities of the agenda, which can meet the interests and mutual needs of both sides and prevent the seizure of our country’s fishing vessels in the waters of the Indian Ocean.

These sailors and fishermen were arrested by the Somali forces in the Indian Ocean in the summer of 2014 and sentenced to six years in prison and a fine of several hundreds of thousands of dollars. It should be noted that the sailors and fishermen of our country have been operating with licenses issued by the Somali authorities, but the Somali authorities claim that the said licenses were issued by unauthorized sources and were invalid.

The ships belonging to the sailors are still in the custody of the Somali government, which should be released and handed over to their owners.

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