The unsettled, decades-long territorial dispute over the delimitation of a 100,000 square kilometers territory in the Indian Ocean which both Kenya and Somalia claim, resurfaced this month resulting in a serious diplomatic fallout. This dispute is currently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Although the dispute is primarily territorial, the potential presence of high-value (multibillion dollar) hydrocarbons transforms it into a functional dispute. These two features make their maritime dispute a critical national interest issue with potential adverse effects of the security and economic well being of Kenya and Somalia.

In light of this development, the HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies held a consultative forum to unpack this maritime dispute. The Forum was held at the HORN Institute offices at 50, Riverside Drive (Nairobi – Kenya), on March 7, 2019. Experts in maritime law, political scientists, and scholars from Somalia and Kenya took part in the event.