Somaliland has formed a ministerial level committee that works to speed up efforts to seek international recognition, as announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland.
The press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland stated that the new committee will focus on the design and implementation of strategies to obtain recognition. This issue follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Somaliland and Ethiopia, which has created a debate in the Horn of Africa region.
Somaliland said that Ethiopia will be the first country to recognize Somaliland. This agreement has caused a lot of anger in Somalia, which considers it aggressive and a violation of its unity. In April, Somalia expelled Ethiopia’s ambassador and threatened to expel thousands of Ethiopian troops, who are part of the ATMIS operation in Somalia. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland Dr. Essa Kayd Mohamoud, was recently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in the process of completing the agreement. He previously said that when the agreement is concluded, the committee of ministers will focus on how to change the understanding into an official agreement that will come into force.
Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, has a complete system of government which is not internationally recognized .
This seek for recognition is driven by historical events such as the bombings and massacre in Hargeisa in 1988 by the Siad Barre regime, which killed tens of thousands. Somalia previously announced that the invasion of Hargeisa was a mistake.
However, Ethiopia has dared to give recognition but the international community including the African Union has refrained from supporting the independence of Somaliland, due to their concern that it will pave the way for other regions to secede and strength the movements of Separations, Ethiopia, while negotiating with Somaliland, has told Foreign diplomats that it respects the territorial sovereignty of Somalia according to the African Union Charter and international regulations.
The government of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, has clearly stated that Somaliland has not promised to give Somaliland diplomatic recognition, despite the signing of the MoU.
Somaliland’s quest for recognition is further influenced by regional & politics actors. Egypt, which previously fought Ethiopia over the Nile River dam, has promised to defend Somalia’s independence. Many governments have supported the territorial independence of Somalia, which shows the diplomatic success achieved by Somalia against Ethiopia.
