The minister’s statement is in a similar but more measured vein than Somalia’s response to the agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia where recognition will reportedly be given in exchange for sea access.
I received calls late at night from Somalis who said they could not sleep over the controversial proposal.
Somalia’s then Environment Minister Aden Ibrahim Aw Hirsi told me at the time: “You always talk about ‘political bombs’ in your reports.
“People here are talking about a political earthquake. This is much worse. This is a tsunami.”
Turkey has since mediated an end to the hostilities but the fact that Somalia recently signed a $ 600,000 (£ 492,000) a year deal with Washington’s top lobbying firm, the BGR Group, shows that it is worried about relations with the incoming Trump administration.
The US last month abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution, In addition to finance the latest incarnation of the African Union’s intervention style in Somalia.
A key architect of African Republican thought, especially when it comes to the Somali problem, is Joshua Meservey, who recently moved from the Heritage Foundation to the right-leaning Hudson Institute.
“The case for Somaliland in US terms is very compelling,” he said. “I think the question of recognition will definitely be discussed, although the guiding north star is what is best for the US national interest in practical terms.”
Senior African officials under Trump marked one, including the former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, and the African envoy, Peter Pham, who is an energetic supporter of Somaliland’s independence.
Like many American Republicans, Somaliland’s Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adan sees the relationship in transactional terms.
“If the deal is good for us, we will take it. If the US wants a military base here, we will give it to them.”
Recognition sympathizers argue that Somaliland is located at the site of several converging US interests – economic, military and strategic.
Mr Meservey added that the region should be “rewarded” for adhering to democratic principles, not relying on foreign aid and having a small government.
Its long coastline runs along one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels may have replaced Somali pirates as the region’s main traffic jam but the attacks remain a major threat to global trade and bring the region closer to war in the Middle East.
The seizure of foreign bases along the coast of the Horn of Africa is a concern for the US, which established the continent’s largest military facility in Djibouti in 2002.
Russia has its eyes on Port Sudan; The United Arab Emirates (UAE) uses Eritrea’s Assab to fight the Houthis and Djibouti is a bloc with foreign forces, including China, which not only has good military facilities but also runs a large port.
Turkey’s largest base on foreign soil stretches along the Somali coast south of Mogadishu.
The situation and the rise of China are Trump’s highest priorities.
The US has accused China of interfering with its activities in Djibouti by beaming lasers into the eyes of air force pilots and keen to move elsewhere.
It also wants to disrupt China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which dominates much of Africa.
The Red Sea port of Berbera, whether you see it as part of Somaliland or Somalia, has a lot to offer as an alternative.
China does not exist; Actually it is furious that Taiwan in 2020 established diplomatic relations with the breakaway republic.
The UAE, a major US ally, runs the newly expanded port and hopes it will rival Djibouti.
During the Biden administration, top American officials, including the head of the US Africa Command (Africom), conducted site visits to Berbera, which has a 4km runway ironically built by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
It was later identified by the US as an emergency landing site for space shuttles – interesting given Trump’s ally Elon Musk’s obsession with space.
In 2022, the US National Defense Authorization Act was amended to include Somaliland, increasing security cooperation and potentially paving the way for stronger diplomatic and economic ties.
