British businessman and author Lord Ashcroft says Somaliland has become one of the Horn of Africa’s rare success stories, urging Britain and Western allies to deepen engagement with the strategically vital territory amid rising geopolitical competition in the Red Sea region
HARGEISA — British businessman, author and former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party Lord Michael Ashcroft has called on Britain and Western allies to deepen engagement with Somaliland, arguing that the self-governing territory has become one of the Horn of Africa’s few democratic and security success stories despite decades of international isolation.
Writing as Somaliland marked the 35th anniversary of its restoration of sovereignty on May 18, Ashcroft said the territory had quietly built functioning democratic institutions, maintained relative stability and emerged as a strategically important partner in an increasingly volatile region.
“Somaliland has spent more than three decades building something exceptionally rare in the Horn of Africa: relative stability, functioning democratic institutions, and security in one of the world’s most volatile regions,” Ashcroft wrote.
“While much of the international community still treats it as a legal fiction, the reality on the ground tells a very different story.”
Ashcroft traveled to Somaliland this month and described his visit as an eye-opening experience that underscored both Somaliland’s political achievements and the unresolved complications surrounding its international status.
In a symbolic illustration of Somaliland’s contested position, Ashcroft said Somalia denied his aircraft access to its airspace en route to Hargeisa, despite Somaliland operating independently for more than three decades.
“It was a sharp illustration of one of the central dilemmas facing Somaliland today — independence proclaimed is not always independence exercised,” he wrote.
“Architecture of a Functioning State”
Ashcroft said he was struck by how extensively Somaliland had developed the institutions associated with sovereign statehood.
“What struck me most upon arrival was not merely Somaliland’s ambition, but the extent to which it has already built the architecture of a functioning state,” he wrote.
During meetings with senior officials, Ashcroft said Somaliland leaders highlighted peaceful transfers of power, democratic elections and the development of national security institutions following the devastation of the civil war that destroyed much of Hargeisa and killed more than 200,000 people.
“Somaliland today maintains its own army, coast guard, police, intelligence services and custodial corps,” he wrote. “Unlike much of southern Somalia, it has not become fertile ground for Islamist extremism.”
Ashcroft contrasted Somaliland’s relative stability with ongoing insecurity in Somalia despite years of international aid flowing through Mogadishu.
“While billions in international aid continue to flow through Mogadishu, Somaliland has largely been left to fend for itself,” he wrote. “Yet it has still managed to establish relative order and maintain security.”
He noted Somaliland’s role in securing parts of the frontier with Ethiopia and helping contain extremist movements operating across the region.
Growing Strategic Importance
Ashcroft argued that Somaliland’s significance now extends far beyond the issue of self-determination because of its strategic location along the Gulf of Aden and near the Red Sea maritime corridor.
He warned that regional instability, Houthi attacks in Yemen, piracy, arms trafficking and growing Chinese influence were rapidly transforming the Horn of Africa into a major geopolitical battleground.
“The Houthi threat in Yemen, piracy, arms trafficking and Chinese expansionism are transforming the Horn of Africa into a major geopolitical theatre,” he wrote.
Ashcroft highlighted the strategic importance of Port of Berbera, where the United Arab Emirates has financed infrastructure and maintains a military presence.
Officials told Ashcroft that Berbera could evolve into a major regional logistics and humanitarian hub connecting East Africa to international markets.
“The port of Berbera could become strategically indispensable,” he wrote.
Taiwan Ties and Western Interests
Ashcroft also pointed to Somaliland’s growing relationship with Taiwan as evidence of shifting geopolitical alignments in the region.
According to Ashcroft, Taiwanese representatives in Hargeisa described Somaliland as an “indispensable partner” in maintaining a free and open Red Sea while resisting Chinese pressure and securing strategic supply chains.
Taiwan has invested in Somaliland through healthcare initiatives, election support, maritime security cooperation and development projects.
Ashcroft argued that Somaliland increasingly sits at the intersection of several major global strategic concerns, including:
- Red Sea maritime security
- Chinese influence in Africa
- Counterterrorism cooperation
- Critical mineral access
- International shipping protection
He said Somaliland officials openly discussed untapped reserves of lithium, platinum and other rare earth minerals while presenting Somaliland as a reliable regional security partner for Britain, the United States and their allies.
Recognition Remains Elusive
Despite growing diplomatic engagement, Ashcroft acknowledged that formal international recognition for Somaliland remains politically difficult.
“Many countries remain wary of opening separatist precedents elsewhere in Africa,” he wrote, noting that Somalia continues lobbying aggressively against Somaliland’s recognition with support from countries including Turkey, China and Qatar.
Still, Ashcroft argued that Britain and Western governments should not ignore Somaliland’s achievements or strategic value.
“At the very least, Somaliland deserves significantly deeper engagement from the UK and the wider West,” he wrote.
Ashcroft suggested that Britain could expand security cooperation, investment partnerships, maritime coordination and development support without necessarily moving immediately toward formal recognition.
“There may also be creative ways to deepen Somaliland’s relationship with the Commonwealth short of outright recognition,” he wrote.
He added that Somaliland’s leaders consistently emphasized democratic accountability, partnership with the West and regional stability — values he described as increasingly rare in the region.
A Challenge for British Foreign Policy
Ashcroft concluded by posing what he described as an uncomfortable but necessary question for Britain and its allies as geopolitical competition intensifies across the Horn of Africa.
“For Britain in particular, Somaliland poses an uncomfortable but important question,” he wrote.
“If we genuinely wish to support stable, democratic and pro-Western partners in strategically vital regions, how long can we continue treating one of the few functioning success stories in the Horn of Africa as though it does not exist?”
