A U.S. delegation traveled to Somaliland, the disputed territory in the Horn of Africa, last week to meet with President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (more popularly known as Irro) and others.
U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Richard Riley and Gen. Michael Langley, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, led the U.S. delegation, which was in Somaliland from Tuesday through Thursday, according to a State Department spokesperson.
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“They met with President Irro and other Somaliland government officials to discuss shared interests in the Horn of Africa,” the spokesperson added. “The U.S. delegation also met with international partners and civil society representatives.”
Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, resembles a Western country and does not share the same problems Somalia had dealt with for decades, including instability, terrorism, and piracy. No country, including the United States, recognizes Somaliland’s independence from Somalia.
The Somaliland presidency office said the two sides “discussed shared security, maritime, and defense interests,” and that the U.S. visited Berbera “to assess infrastructure capabilities needed to strengthen security cooperation and defense capabilities.”
The U.S. military has a presence in the Horn of Africa, where it has worked with the Somalis to carry out counterterrorism operations. The U.S. has a military base in neighboring Djibouti called Camp Lemonnier. The Gulf of Aden, the body of water off the Horn of Africa, is where the Yemen-based Houthis began targeting commercial shipping vessels in November 2023. The U.S. military conducted a nearly two-month bombing campaign against the Houthis this year until the two sides reached a ceasefire.
A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner on May 15, “The State Department is not in discussions with Somaliland’s representatives about a deal to recognize Somaliland as a state,” but did not respond on Friday as to whether that is still accurate.
There is a growing sentiment on Capitol Hill that the U.S. should reevaluate its Somalia policy, though Africa is rarely a top priority.
“I believe that a serious conversation about U.S. recognition of Somaliland is both necessary to advance clarity about America’s national security interests, and is long overdue. A stable, long-term, and clearly defined partnership between the U.S. and Somaliland would be mutually beneficial,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner. “Somaliland would be a strong economic partner committed to integrating into the American global security system, which is critical to the safety and prosperity of Americans. Of course there are other issues that will have to be addressed, and ultimately these issues must be settled by the Somali people.”
Cruz serves as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy.
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A handful of House lawmakers have signed on to a bill introduced last week that would recognize Somaliland’s independence.
“For more than three decades, Somaliland demonstrated the kind of governance, stability, and cooperation that America should support,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), the member who introduced the bill, said. “Foreign adversaries are on the march in Africa and around the globe, and it’s in our national interest to strengthen relationships with reliable partners who share our values and contribute to our security — whenever and wherever possible.”
The U.S. is trying to counter Chinese influence on the African continent. Somalia has relations with China, while Somaliland has informal relations with Taiwan. China’s foreign ministry affirmed earlier this year that it views Somaliland as a part of Somalia.