Somaliland Administration Mends Ties with Djibouti in Policy Reversal

[Deeq A.]

President of Somaliland Adminstration Abdirahman Abdullahi (left) and the President of Djibouti, Ismail O. Guelleh.

Hargeisa (PP News Desk) — The President of the Somaliland administration, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, currently visiting Djibouti, was received by President Ismail Omar Guelleh. The visit signifies a decisive shift from the stance of Abdullahi’s successor, President Muse Bihi Abdi, who previously regarded Djibouti as “an enemy state”.

Relations between Hargeisa and Djibouti deteriorated after President Bihi signed a controversial maritime Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which sought to lease a coastal district to Ethiopia for a naval base. The agreement was widely condemned for violating Somali sovereignty. Djibouti aligned with the Federal Government of Somalia in rejecting the MoU, describing it as a breach of the African Union Charter.

President Abdullahi’s visit reflects his administration’s new policy direction, fulfilling campaign pledges to restore regional ties and pursue peaceful resolutions. He has revoked the maritime MoU and advocated dialogue to address the conflict in Sool, Togdheer, and Sanaag with the federal member state, SSC-Khatumo (SSCK) administration based in Laascaanood.

“President Abdullahi reversed the self-defeating policies of his predecessor, who falsely claimed Al-Shabaab operated from Laascaanood. The current government has disbanded clan militias mobilised under Bihi following the defeat of Somaliland forces at Gojacadde in August 2023,” noted an analyst from a Hargeisa-based think tank.

President Guelleh is reportedly facilitating efforts to resume dialogue between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Somaliland administration, a secessionist entity. “There are hurdles to restarting talks, chief among them the classification of secession as a national security threat by Somalia,” the analyst added.

Ethiopia, which had planned to construct a merchant port at Lughaya to reduce dependence on Djibouti’s ports, has since withdrawn from the maritime MoU. The decision aligns with its commitments as a member of the African Union and the Ankara Agreement signed in December 2024 by Somali President Dr Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.      

© Puntland Post, 2025

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