Somaliland plans to use the momentum from Israel’s recognition of the breakaway state to press its case to Washington and other major capitals, pitching the territory as a strategic, resource-rich partner to US President Donald Trump, its leader said in an interview.
“The recognition of Somaliland was a historic moment for myself and for my people,” President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdilahi told Semafor in Dubai. “More people will pay attention. Somaliland is now used in every language in the world, and so that’s a major impact.”
In December, Israel became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland — which has been operating as a de facto independent state since 1991 — triggering condemnation from the African Union, the European Union, and countries including China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Somaliland’s close ties to the UAE have also become a sticking point in the rift between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.
Abdilahi said the backlash over Israel’s announcement was expected. “Negative reactions were mostly based on interests, or some didn’t know the history of Somaliland,” he said. “We are older than Somalia, and we voluntarily merged with Somalia because we wanted to unite all Somali-speaking territories at that time.”
He said Somaliland has long pursued recognition quietly, and will continue to do so. “We are working hard to get more friends and countries,” Abdilahi said. “We have more enemies than before, so everything has to be done discreetly.”
Abdilahi also plans to deepen ties with Israel, including opening embassies and exchanging commercial attachés. “Israel is a highly technologically advanced country. So we want to benefit from their technology in all aspects — in education, in agriculture, in science, in water,” he said.
The president also reiterated previous overtures to Washington, highlighting Somaliland’s coastline on the Red Sea and in the Horn of Africa, as well as its mineral resources, which he explicitly offered to Trump. “We have an abundance of natural resources, including minerals. We have oil and gas. We have very large arable land for agriculture,” he said. “We have the best beaches in the world.”
Somaliland supporters in Washington view the territory as a potential security ally in the Horn of Africa. Recognition could allow US intelligence to establish a base to monitor weapons flows, Houthi activity in Yemen, and China’s growing footprint, including Beijing’s military base in neighboring Djibouti.
The UAE is the territory’s biggest investor, through port operator DP World, which has invested more than $400 million to expand a facility to handle the largest cargo vessels and is building a manufacturing and trade zone nearby in Berbera.