“Recognition is on the horizon. It’s a matter of time. Not if, but when and who will lead the recognition of Somaliland,” says the President of Somaliland
The former defense secretary, Gavin Williamson, a prominent advocate for recognition of the ex-British protectorate, believes a recalculation is very much underway.
Williamson, speaking to the Guardian earlier this month, said US officials had assured him that recognition for Somaliland would happen.
“I was talking to a few people this week, and the thing I was getting from them is that it [recognition] is getting there. They’ve already started shifting away from the one Somalia policy.”
Williamson, like Abdullahi, believes recognition will happen by 2028 at the latest. He adds, “Before President Trump’s term ends, the US will have recognized Somaliland. My hope is that within a year we will have the first country within the United Nations to have recognized Somaliland.”
Bashe Omar, former representative of Somaliland to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), says US officials he met recently in Abu Dhabi were “frustrated” at the one-Somalia policy.
“What we are hearing, behind the scenes, is encouraging us. The US is moving in the right direction.”
Also waiting in the wings is the UAE, one of Trump’s closer allies, which has invested more than $442m to modernize Berbera’s port and a highway linking it to Ethiopia, a landlocked country that desperately wants maritime access.
Ethiopia’s desire for access to the sea remains a key geopolitical theme of the region, prompting a bitter diplomatic dispute last year after the signing of a deal with Somaliland to build a port.
The deal was reportedly made on the condition that Addis Ababa would recognize Somaliland.
The development enraged Somalia, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict with Egypt backing Somalia largely over its anger with Ethiopia for building a dam on the Nile.
Officially, the US State Department continues to assert that it “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Somalia. A statement added that it was “not in discussions” with Somaliland to recognize it as a state.
Another factor remains, however farfetched it might seem, that could yet prove significant: the proposed resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to the African breakaway state.
Palestinians have been moving here for a long time, since 2004, 2005. Somaliland welcomes all refugees
Aidrous Osman Hussain, Somaliland refugee department
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, recently suggested that operations in Gaza would not end until the forced displacement of all its Palestinians had taken place.
Trump has talked of the US relocating Gaza’s population to allow the strip to be remodeled into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Aidrous Osman Hussain, deputy director of Somaliland’s refugee department, says Palestinians have considered Somaliland a destination since the second intifada.
“Palestinians have been moving here for a long time, since 2004, 2005. Somaliland welcomes all refugees.”
Currently, there are 12 Palestinian families, but officials say they are happy for the numbers to grow.
“The people of Somaliland, the community of Hargeisa, wants to help refugees,” says Hussain.
Almost 23,000 refugees of different nationalities have moved to Somaliland, with 2,875 arriving last year. More than 300 Sudanese families have arrived there since its brutal civil war began, and Somaliland’s population of Syrians, who left during the civil war, numbers about 2,000 people.
One Syrian family, who fled fierce fighting in Damascus in 2023, describes Hargeisa as perfect for Muslims; Syrian restaurants, supermarkets, and dentists are dotted throughout the capital.
As he verified his family’s paperwork at the refugee processing facility in the Sha’ab area of Hargeisa, Hassan says: “Somalilanders are Muslim; here it is safe for us and our family.”
Hassan, who did not want to share his surname, adds, “The most important thing that mattered to me was security. Here, it’s a very open community, and we integrate well.”
Yet, to help further, Somaliland needs international recognition to access more help from the wider community.
Hussain adds, “If Somaliland gets recognition, we can help share the burden; we can help more people.
Abdullahi, flanked by nodding advisers, says the US is yet to officially float the prospect of resettling people from Gaza.
“We are a hospitable people. They, the Palestinians, are our brothers. If they decide to come on their own, we don’t mind.
“But there is no discussion on that issue with the Palestinians or with any other country.”
