Somalia: Somaliland's Moment?

19 June 2025
International Crisis Group
By Alan Boswell and Guleid Ahmed Jama

This week on The Horn, Alan speaks with Guleid Ahmed Jama, a lawyer and political commentator based in Hargeisa, about Somaliland's push for recognition as it navigates regional turmoil and an increasingly polarised world.

This week on The Horn, Alan is joined by Guleid Ahmed Jama, a Hargeisa-based lawyer and political commentator, to discuss Somaliland's push for recognition. They revisit Somaliland's decision to declare independence from Somalia in 1991 and trace how Hargeisa's relations with Mogadishu have evolved since then. They discuss Somaliland's memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia in 2024 - reportedly granting Ethiopia port access in exchange for potential recognition - which stirred domestic debate and regional tensions, and explore how Somaliland's new administration has been managing relations with both Addis Ababa and Mogadishu. They explore prospects of greater U.S. engagement under the Trump administration, potentially linked to military access, and discuss how Hargeisa's ties with global powers and regional actors might evolve as Somaliland continues to assert itself internationally.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

For more, check out Crisis Group's recent analyses, "Somaliland's Peaceful Handover Withstands Neighbourhood Strains" and our Somaliland page.

Alan Boswell, Project Director, Horn of Africa

Guleid Ahmed Jama, Lawyer & Political Commentator

Read the original on the Crisis Group website.

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