Kenya's plan to shut down Dadaab refugee camp is "logistically impractical", Somalia's ambassador to the United States has said.
Ahmed Awad said the move could also damage relations between Kenya and Somalia.
"I think Kenyans and Somalis have developed closeness through the years,"
Awad told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
"This issue should not undermine the progress our countries have made together."
On May 13, the Somalia government said the decision to close the Refugee department is "foul" and will .
“The move will make the threat of terrorism worse, not better, given the volatile situation this decision and the proposed subsequent actions will cause," read a statement.
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Awad called on the Kenyan government to reconsider its plans
to .
"Forcing 340,000 people to go back to
a place where they have nothing after 25 years of absence wipes out the goodwill you have from them," he said.
"If you have tolerated 25 years of Dadaab, it doesn't take much with the help of the international community and cooperation from Somalia, to give a time, as we have already agreed, for a voluntary return of these refugees in a very humane way."
Dadaab and Kakuma camps have about 400,000 people; Daadab alone had about 340,000 refugees while Kakuma had more than 55,000 in UNHCR data released in September 2015.
The ambassador said
Somalia should respect local and international laws in protecting refugees and asylum seekers.
"The Kenyan government should respect the call of the international community, the humanitarian community and the sister country of Somalia," he said.
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But President Uhuru Kenyatta has maintained that the decision to repatriate the refugees is irreversible.
Noting the process of taking them back to the country has began, Uhuru called on the global community to partner with Kenya to ensure its success.
“The train has already left the station. It is now up to those who are interested in seeing the success of the journey to come on board,” he said.
But the President said Kenya’s action should not be misinterpreted as a move to abandon its international obligations. He noted that
the country has hosted refugees from neighbouring nations for decades.
He spoke last week during talks with UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson.
Uhuru held a meeting with members of the United Nations Security Council at State House, Nairobi on May 20.
He is understood to have used the meeting to to close Dadaab, reiterating the decision was “driven by national interests” and that Kenya is not about to go back on it.