The Executive of Somaliland received this Tuesday as a key boost to its aspirations for independence the words spoken yesterday by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who referred to this territory, which Somalia considers an inseparable part of its State, as "a country".
Trump's statements took place during a rally in Ohio. "I call it Somalia Land, not Somaliland, because it is actually a completely different country. Some like Somaliland, which has nothing to do with it," he stated at one point.
Somaliland proclaimed its self-determination in 1991, but no member of the United Nations had taken the step to recognize it until December 26 of last year. Israel, in a practically unprecedented decision, recognized for the second time the independence of this territory after having done so in 1960, in a completely different scenario, during the five days of existence of the so-called State of Somaliland.
Israeli specialists from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) emphasized the strategic weight of normalizing ties with Somaliland for two main reasons: its "geostrategic location and its willingness as a stable, moderate, and reliable State in a volatile region to collaborate closely with Western countries".
The INSS itself highlights that the coastal strip and the interior of Somaliland are located about 300 to 500 kilometers from the positions of one of Israel's main regional adversaries, the Houthi insurgency based in Yemen.
Hours after the Israeli recognition became public, Somalia and several of its international partners, including Egypt and Turkey, outright rejected the decision, which they described as a frontal attack on Somali territorial integrity and an extremely dangerous precedent, considering it both a threat to regional security and a direct violation of the UN Charter.
In this context, Somaliland has applauded Trump's statements because they "reaffirm a consolidated reality: the Republic of Somaliland has its own internationally defined borders, inherited after its independence and in accordance with the African Union principle of respecting existing borders at the time of independence".
In this way, the Government of Somaliland "expresses its gratitude to President Trump for recognizing the reality of the Republic of Somaliland as a sovereign and independent country," a gesture that, in its opinion, "adds to the formal recognition of the Republic of Somaliland by Israel and its established alliance with Taiwan."