US reaffirms Somali sovereignty in blow to Somaliland and Israel

The US has reaffirmed “the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Somalia, in a move seen as a blow to Somaliland, the breakaway region recently recognised by Israel and close to the United Arab Emirates. 

In a report to Congress on “Potential Areas for Improved United States Engagement with Somaliland”, the US State Department stated that Somaliland was included in the Federal Republic of Somalia.

“Within that framework, the United States maintains a positive, constructive relationship with Somaliland and continues to explore additional opportunities for engagement with Somaliland authorities,” the report says. 

Israel became the first country in the world to formally recognise Somaliland on 26 December last year.

The month before, Somaliland President Abdirahman Abdullahi Mohamed secretly visited Israel, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other “top officials”, according to multiple sources in Somalia and Somaliland. 

Those other officials included Mossad chief David Barnea and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who visited Somaliland immediately after Israel formally recognised the former British colony’s sovereignty. 

‘Recognition is bigger than anything else. Do you have an alternative for us?’

– Rooble Mohamed, Somaliland government adviser

Somaliland has since recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, establishing an embassy there as meetings between Somaliland and Israeli ministers have continued and pro-Israel figures in the media have taken up the cause of independence for the breakaway Somali region. 

Jake Wallis Simons, former editor of the Jewish Chronicle, and Andrew Fox, an associate fellow at the right-wing Henry Jackson Society, were flown out to Somaliland for the 18 May self-declared independence day celebrations in Hargeisa, the region’s capital.

Both men are ardent supporters of Israel. The UK’s former defence minister, Conservative MP Gavin Williamson, another keen supporter of Somaliland, was also part of the trip. 

Somaliland is hoping that Israel’s recognition will be followed by the UAE, with Ethiopia, India, Cyprus and Georgia also in its sights. 

Trump not expected to recognise Somaliland

A congressional source told Middle East Eye they did not expect US President Donald Trump’s administration to recognise Somaliland.

Though lobbyists, including former Trump officials Tibor Nagy and Peter Pham, had raised the hopes of Somalilanders over US recognition, “there was never a sign that the president would go through with it,” the source said.

Trump has persistently singled out Somalia and Somali Americans for abuse during his second term in office.

‘This is a consequential announcement that may effectively close the door on any lingering hopes of US recognition for Somaliland’

– Somali analyst

He has referred to Somalis as “low IQ people” and said that all Somalis are “crooked as hell”. He has said that Somali American congresswoman Ilhan Omar “is garbage”, and that “her friends are garbage”. 

A Somali analyst and policy adviser, who could not be named as he works with officials in both Somalia and Somaliland, told MEE he thought the report to Congress was “a consequential announcement that may effectively close the door on any lingering hopes of US recognition for Somaliland”.

“From a strategic perspective, why settle for part of the cake when the whole cake remains within reach,” he said, referring to US ambitions across the whole of Somalia.

Asked if he agreed with this analysis, Rooble Mohamed, who is a consultant for the Somaliland communications ministry, told MEE: “The United States does not currently recognise Somaliland, so unless there is a formal recognition, such a statement is the reality for now.

“The US does not officially recognise Taiwan as a sovereign state but has its own arrangements with it as a separate entity from China. This proposal seems to be the same.”

Somaliland’s strategic importance for Israel, UAE and US

Somaliland and its location on the Red Sea have become more strategically important to the US, Israel and its allies with the rise of the Houthis in Yemen, the war on Iran and threats to shipping in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes. 

After it entered the war in Yemen, the UAE began building a ring of bases to control the Gulf of Aden. 

This was done with the help of Israeli military and intelligence officers, even before relations between the two countries were normalised as part of the Abraham Accords in 2020. Berbera, Somaliland’s main port, was part of this circle of bases, which is no longer fully intact following the rift between the UAE and its coalition partner in Yemen, Saudi Arabia.

The State Department’s report to Congress is clear on this matter. “Somaliland’s strategic location near Yemen and the Bab al-Mandab Strait positions it as a potential partner on shared security interests, including freedom of commercial and military navigation from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean,” it says.

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Israeli and Somaliland officials are in talks about the establishment of an Israeli base at Berbera. The UAE’s DP World also runs its own port there, which is co-owned by the British government through its foreign investment arm. 

“Somaliland authorities have encouraged US investment in minerals and outlined priorities in infrastructure, trade, and economic growth,” the report to Congress says. 

Somaliland officials have said their soil is rich in lithium, coltan and other sought-after resources, and they have suggested that US access to these riches could come alongside recognition. 

The State Department report also mentions the “ongoing development” of Berbera’s airport and seaports “into a trade and transportation hub for Somaliland and landlocked Ethiopia”, saying this could “create increased opportunities” for the US.

However, the report concludes, “regional security concerns and the dispute over Somaliland’s status, including its refusal to cooperate with national authorities, present challenges for investment, banking, and trade.” 

Asked if he thought Israel’s recognition was doing Somaliland more harm than good, given the genocide in Gaza and Israel’s plummeting popularity worldwide and particularly in the Muslim world, Rooble Mohamed said the government in Hargeisa had “no alternatives”.

“Recognition is bigger than anything else. Do you have an alternative for us?

“We are one of the Muslim countries of the world, I don’t think we are different. I think it’s normal to have a relationship with Israel,” Mohamed said. “It does not mean the Palestinians are our enemies.”