Somaliland Republic is nearer to its holy grail than even before. Somaliland is now a strategic military, security and economic ally and partner of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Somaliland Republic is the old Adal Sultanate established in the 10th century and borders the Gulf of Adan and the Arabian Peninsula. It has long trading, cultural and religious links with the Arab peoples for milllenia.
For nearly three decades, the holy grail of politics in Somaliland has been its quest for international recognition. Somaliland is not its own country — not officially, any way — but it wants to be. It operates with complete independence from Somalia proper, under whose sovereignty the territory technically falls, and it boasts all the trappings of a modern state: a flag, a national anthem, a currency, an army, a Constitution.
But despite Somaliland’s stellar track record of stability and economic growth, the territory’s pleas for recognition have fallen on deaf ears. The international community, prioritising its own geostrategic considerations, has consistently preferred to reinforce a succession of unstable governments in Mogadishu, leaving Somaliland to fend for itself, for the most part.
Political theorists hypothesise that Somaliland’s success comes not despite this international isolation, but because of it; that the absence of aid money and one-size-fits-all development plans has allowed it to develop a home-grown democracy that actually works for the community. Nonetheless, Somaliland remains desperate to end this isolation — and it just might be on the brink of doing so.
Finally, global geopolitics is working in its favour. The bitter divisions in the Middle East have spilled over into the Horn of Africa, forcing governments to choose sides. Somalia’s federal government, propped up by African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Mogadishu, is aligning itself with Qatar and Turkey. This has forced Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to go searching for other Somali partners — and Somaliland can barely contain its enthusiasm.
Already, even as the UAE has withdrawn from a military training arrangement in Mogadishu, it has reached a deal to build a military base in Somaliland’s Berbera port; while Emirati behemoth DP World will operate the commercial facilities there. According to one report, the UAE is now accepting Somaliland passports.
It’s not just Somaliland, either: the president of neighbouring Puntland, a semi-autonomous region with much closer ties to Mogadishu, recently jetted off to Abu Dhabi for a meeting with senior Emirati officials, suggesting that it too has taken the side of the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
In Hargeisa, Somaliland’s booming capital city, the government is daring to dream: could the territory be on the brink of receiving their first official recognition as a sovereign entity? The worse relations get between Abu Dhabi and Mogadishu — and they are deteriorating further by the week — the more likely that seems. And where the UAE goes, other countries may follow, given the Emirates’ considerable influence in the region.
The international recognition that Somaliland craves is closer than ever before.
For nearly three decades, the holy grail of politics in Somaliland has been its quest for international recognition. Somaliland is not its own country — not officially, any way — but it wants to be. It operates with complete independence from Somalia proper, under whose sovereignty the territory technically falls, and it boasts all the trappings of a modern state: a flag, a national anthem, a currency, an army, a Constitution.
But despite Somaliland’s stellar track record of stability and economic growth, the territory’s pleas for recognition have fallen on deaf ears. The international community, prioritising its own geostrategic considerations, has consistently preferred to reinforce a succession of unstable governments in Mogadishu, leaving Somaliland to fend for itself, for the most part.
Political theorists hypothesise that Somaliland’s success comes not despite this international isolation, but because of it; that the absence of aid money and one-size-fits-all development plans has allowed it to develop a home-grown democracy that actually works for the community. Nonetheless, Somaliland remains desperate to end this isolation — and it just might be on the brink of doing so.
Finally, global geopolitics is working in its favour. The bitter divisions in the Middle East have spilled over into the Horn of Africa, forcing governments to choose sides. Somalia’s federal government, propped up by African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Mogadishu, is aligning itself with Qatar and Turkey. This has forced Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to go searching for other Somali partners — and Somaliland can barely contain its enthusiasm.
Already, even as the UAE has withdrawn from a military training arrangement in Mogadishu, it has reached a deal to build a military base in Somaliland’s Berbera port; while Emirati behemoth DP World will operate the commercial facilities there. According to one report, the UAE is now accepting Somaliland passports.
It’s not just Somaliland, either: the president of neighbouring Puntland, a semi-autonomous region with much closer ties to Mogadishu, recently jetted off to Abu Dhabi for a meeting with senior Emirati officials, suggesting that it too has taken the side of the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
In Hargeisa, Somaliland’s booming capital city, the government is daring to dream: could the territory be on the brink of receiving their first official recognition as a sovereign entity? The worse relations get between Abu Dhabi and Mogadishu — and they are deteriorating further by the week — the more likely that seems. And where the UAE goes, other countries may follow, given the Emirates’ considerable influence in the region.
The international recognition that Somaliland craves is closer than ever before.
