Mr. Ibrahim Abdishakur Ibrahim, a second-year Faculty of Engineering student from the University of Amoud in Borama was shot dead by a university campus police officer. Reports indicate the student tried to enter the university campus to retrieve a cellphone he had forgotten and was shot dead following an altercation. It is unclear if the campus Police officer and Mr. Ibrahim had a verbal or a physical altercation before the incident that resulted in Mr. Ibrahim’s death.
The police officer that shot Mr. Ibrahim, whose identity has not been made public, is in custody in custody. Somaliland Police provide security to many public and private institutions, including Amoud University where the shooting occurred.
Somaliland Police has not released a statement on the shooting death of Mr. Ibrahim and it is clear if this incident will prompt any changes in how police interact with the public and use of lethal force.
Earlier reports, including one from a Voice of America reporter, falsely linked Mr. Ibrahim’s death to an ongoing issue where some youth displayed the Somali flag and used an image from an incident in Mogadishu with a victim wearing a blue shirt.
This is a developing story: We’ll give updates on the situation as we learn more.
Since the beginning and the fall of communism, America’s foreign policy has been focusing a lot on the Middle East and disregarded the African region. Given the ongoing civil wars in Africa, it is not a strategic or critical area that America can invest a lot in, building military bases, economic infrastructure, or empower the democracy of their African allies is not seen as a priority. Africa has been among the continents if not the only one with the richness, most expensive, and untouched natural resources such as gold, diamond, oil, and the most important being human capital due to the young ages living in the continent compared to others. By considering that, this paper describes an analysis of what could be the greatest foreign policy-related issue America is currently facing in the African continent or could be facing in the future. This paper will analyze how former American administrations have failed to capitalize on the potential of its African allies and will need to intensify relations in Africa in order to maintain its global position. In this paper, I will give a background about the history of America’s involvement in Africa, some of America’s successes and failures in the region. In this paper, I will also recommend three recommendations that could make better to reform and rectify the current, and the future of America’s foreign policy relations towards Africa.
The three recommendations of this paper will be: the creation of functioning and powerful trade and investment between America, and Africa, partnering with the African countries to defeat terrorism, pirates, and ending ongoing conflicts in the region, and finally, linking America’s aid and democracy to encounter China, and Russia’ political influence and spread of anti-democracy political behaviors in the continent. This paper will analyze the limitations and downsides of the suggested recommendations, to reform and rectify the current, and future of America’s foreign policy relations towards Africa. And finally, this paper will propose an alternative to one of the suggested recommendations and why it is not as good as being recommended. The main goal of this policy paper is to help the newly elected president Joe Biden prepare for his new role of re-adjusting and rectifying the current and the future of what could be the greatest foreign policy-related issue America is facing in Africa currently or soon.
Background
Africa has been a home for more than one billion people with diverse cultures, languages, traditions, and histories. In many times the lack of homogeneity within the nations in Africa led to them to have a major conflicts such as civil wars which later also led to a major genocide happening between the different tribes that were living and sharing the same land. Due to the geographical locations, some of these nations in Africa were able to develop and progress furthermore than those who were in an erratic location. The current political systems in many nations in the continent of Africa are shaped by the European colonization in Africa and the aftermath that happened later when many of these nations got their independence back from the colonial. Many countries in Africa today are still under the political leaders who took the control of the nation when their nations freed themselves from colonization. Some other nations in Africa are still under the control of those political leaders who took the lead after their nation suffered from a bloody civil war like Rwanda, and Djibouti whose presidents are still in charge after twenty years.
During the end of the colonial period in Africa which happened in the mid-to-late ’50s and ’70s, many European colonizers could not resist finding another way of having access to the resources of their former colonies. Some of the European colonists due to their dominant power were able to claim many sovereignties in the continent of Africa even though they all had different procedures and aims. Since most of the African nations were under the control of many European countries after they got their independence back from their colonies many countries could not stand alone economically, politically, and socially and they needed a helping hand from their former colonizers. The lack of resource management and lack of industrial development allowed and gave another chance to the European colonialists to ‘recolonize’ their former African colony or protectorates. “Decolonization released African nations from their status as colonial subjects but failed to rid African nations of the sway of their former colonial rulers, other western powers, and a culture of political and economic exploitation and corruption” (African age,2011).
To create a better and effective American foreign policy towards Africa, it is significant that Biden and his new administration understand some of the major problems in many countries in Africa are facing, and the roots and causations of these problems. In the case of Africa, as stated by the journal released by the “World Happiness Report in 2017”, unlike many industrialized and developed nations in the west, there are common trending issues in many countries or in the continent of Africa. Some of the issues can be resolved by building strong state capacity and good governance. According to a survey filled by the citizens of forty-four countries in Africa, which was conducted in the “World Happiness Report in 2017” and Afro-barometer in (Figure1) revealed that these were some of the common and key issues mentioned by the citizens of randomly selected 18 African countries. These citizens stated and requested if their governments can prioritize and do something about them. Some of the common issues were poor governance, corruption, unemployment, population growth, insecurity, and drought, and famine. The main cause of the roots of poor governance in the continent has been for a long time the “dictatorship that merged from the independence from the colonial rule” (The African Exponent, 1,2019). The long last existence of poor governance in many countries in Africa caused the lack of creation and fulfillment of public policies and regulations that could have made it possible for the ruling governments of the African nations to provide some of the basic needs to their citizens such as healthcare, security, good and affordable education, and the ability to build public infrastructure.
Aside from that, poor governance allowed corrupted politicians to increase their term of office limits assigned by their constitutions. Corruption as among the common and serious issues that prohibited many nations in Africa to progress further contributed to the increased gap of economic inequality and job, and life opportunities between the rich and the poor in these nations. Despite the increase of unemployment being a worldwide issue lately, this problem affected African nations differently due to their outdated and poorly invested education system which could not equip the young people in the continent with the right tools and skills they need to have to succeed. On that note, Africa having a high number of unemployed youths living in the continent forced them to do nothing but to involve in dangerous crimes that could be a threat to the peace and the stability of their nations such as creating or joining existing terrorist groups or other pirates and militias.
For the newly elected president Joe Biden and his Administration, it is a crucial and crucial step to understand and study some of the successful foreign policy tools and an approach used and implemented by America’s former governments. In the past, America was able to achieve some success in its foreign policy towards Africa by using the instrumental approaches of foreign policies such as economic sanctions- in which America used “The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986” as a foreign policy tool to end the racism, and apartheid that was in South Africa passed by America’s Congress. This conditioned economic sanction was an effective tool that worked and played a significant role in ending the racism that was taking place in South Africa. In the past, another foreign policy approach used by the former American government was a ‘diplomatic approach’ such as ‘recognition of behavior’ in which Trump removed South Sudan from the terrorist list to make Sudan a new diplomatic friend and ally with Israel. ‘Praising Allie’ was another diplomatic approach used by former President Donald Trump and his administration and as a result, it brought a good ally in the diplomatic relationship between two countries that were both an American ally -Bahrain and Israel. As another successful form of diplomatic approach in 1777, America signed ‘Moroccan American Treaty Friendship’ which was the first bilateral treaty between America and another foreign nation signed by both nations. As a successful military-diplomatic approach, such as sending in and out troops, America was able to “work with the national government, municipal councils, entrepreneurs, and a range of civil society groups, including those representing women and marginalized communities, in their efforts to improve Libyan lives. Since 2011, the United States has provided more than $840 million in assistance for Libya” (U.S. Relations with Libya, 1, 2021).
The diplomatic approach of ‘Praising Allie’ was another diplomatic approach used by former President Donald Trump and his administration and as a result, it brought a good ally diplomatic relationship between two countries that were both American allies -Bahrain, and Israel. As another successful form of diplomatic approach in 1777, America signed ‘Moroccan-American Treaty Friendship’ which was the first bilateral treaty between America and another foreign nation signed by both nations. As a successful military-diplomatic approach, such as sending in and out troops, America was able to “works with the national government, municipal councils, entrepreneurs, and a range of civil society groups, including those representing women and marginalized communities, in their efforts to improve Libyan lives. Since 2011, the United States has provided more than $840 million in assistance for Libya” (U.S. Relations with Libya, 1, 2021).
The past and current American foreign policy towards helping underdeveloped nations or other nations who lost all their infrastructure, and government stability at wars like Europe in the devastation of World War II, the usage of ‘USAID (US Agency for International Development)’ has been a successful instrument foreign policy to make an impact and change overseas. America introduced at that was known as ‘The Marshall Plan’ or the ‘European Recovery Program’ which has been so far one of the exemplary programs that had shown why aid is an effective and successful tool to implement as part of the foreign policy strategies. Some of the main objectives of this program were to “generate a resurgence of European industrialization and brought extensive investment into the region. It was also a stimulant to the U.S. economy by establishing markets for American goods” (Milestones, 1, 1945-52). As a by-product of the success of this program, the Congress of America later in 1961 introduced and passed a new policy which was known as the ‘Foreign Assist Act-1961’.
The Congress of America declared that the end in view of this foreign policy ‘Foreign Assist Act-1961’ is to provide encouragement and be a tower of strength to support the people of developing countries, “in their efforts to acquire the knowledge and resources essential to the development and to build the economic, political, and social institutions which will improve the quality of their lives” (Foreign Assist Act,1,1961). To make this policy effective and change-making, the Congress of America emphasized that this policy should follow and focus on five principles. The main principles of the new act passed by the congress were by using the grant funding through the ‘Foreign Assist Act-1961’ to alleviate and help to reduce the physical display of poverty among the impoverished and developing countries, creating and implementing political strategies that could enable developing countries to be successful and self-sufficient in terms of economic development with a non-discriminatory distribution of resources and benefits, and finally, to create a new norm of protecting and respecting individual citizen’s civil and growth economic rights, and to promote the development and creation of good governance to fight against corruption and to help enable countries to be part of into an open and fair international economic system (Foreign Assist Act,1,1961).
In addition to that, according to America’s Agency for International Development (USAID) report, “In Fiscal Year 2019, USAID and the U.S. Department of State provided $8.3 billion (about $26 per person in the US) of assistance to 47 countries and 8 regional programs in sub-Saharan Africa” (USAID,2020). This funding was used in equipment, farmers’ training, building schools and hospitals, and other essential programs such as education development, empowering women, and youth. Today the strategy and the implementation policies of the USAID, based on its approaches seem to resemble and following the principles stated the Congress’s Foreign Assist Act,1,1961. Despite that, after the event of 9/11, during the Bush II’s, as part of the country’s new national security strategy, his administration concluded that using USAID to focus on building infrastructures wasn’t the best and ideal way and instead proposed using it as means of ‘state capacity building’ would help the American government to achieve more success in both its national security and its foreign policy overseas, especially in developing nations who are in failed and fragile states (The National Security Strategy of The United States of America, 4,2002). Nevertheless, over the past, America was able to achieve some success by using some of the elements and instruments of foreign policy approaches such as economics, trade, military, aid, and diplomacy in its foreign policy toward Africa.
Recommendations
Based on the background information stated in this research paper and my subjective experiences from living in some countries in Africa, I am recommending to the newly elected President Joe Biden to do the following recommendation in order to reform and create a successful American foreign policy towards Africa. My recommendations are: –
The creation of functioning and powerful trade and investment between America, and Africa.
Partnering with the African countries to defeat terrorism, pirates, and ending ongoing conflicts in region.
Linking America’s aid and democracy to encounter China, and Russia’ tyranny political influence and spread of anti-democracy political behaviors in the continent.
America-Africa Trade
In the decade, the trade relations between America and Africa declined by a lot since these past American Administrations their interest in the region went undercut while other countries like China, and Russia competed filling the open spaces and trade opportunities left by the American government. The increase of the economic growth of the continent was playing an important role to make the countries in the continent achieving self-sustainable economic goals since they were receiving less aid and were engaging more in participating in the international trade. According to Meltzer, “since 2011… only approximately 1.5 percent of U.S. exports are to sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, economic growth in Africa from 2004 to 2014 averaged 5.8 percent, though in 2015 growth was only 3.75 percent” (Meltzer, 1,2016). One of the main reasons leading to this huge economic growth decline from 2015, as Meltzer stated was due to the slowing growth rates of export from China. In 2000, the Congress of America passed a new act to increase and support the engagement of trade interactions between America and Africa. This was known as the ‘African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
This act has been the centerpiece of America’s economic policy and private enterprise engagements with Africa. The main goal of this act was to create and promote a platform for the African countries to receive duty-free access to America’s market for over 1000 products (Office of the United States Trade Representatives, 1). In addition to that, America provided another system “Generalized System of Preferences” in which developing countries around the world included already members of the AGOA were able to export “more than 5,000 products that were free eligible duty-free access” under this system (Meltzer, 1,2016). According to the Office of the United States Trade Representatives, to meet the requirements of the AGOA, countries must make an advancement route of building a market-based economy and creating a functioning rule of law. Additionally, as part of the requirement, this act encourages and requires the member states and potential one to eliminate trade barriers and systems to fight against corruption as well as to increase their support of protection of human rights (Office of the United States Trade Representatives, 1). Re-evaluating the membership of the AGOA and supporting more potential countries from Africa to join this agreement can increase the trade interaction between American and Africa.
Increasing the trade and investment partnership between America and African countries based on bilateral agreements might not the best approach due to the drastic changes in the international trading system. Inviting and helping eligible African countries to participate in the international trade agreements between America and other American allies and continents. will increase many African countries their growth domestic product since some of America’s trade partners represent half of the world’s global growth domestic products as well as both the global’ imports and exports percentages. This will allow some of the African countries with strong economies to involve and present their views in large global trade negotiations. This will allow many countries in Africa to receive investment. And in return, some of the African countries can support and be behind the implementation of the policies being used to reduce the increase of global warming and greenhouse gases.
To make this trade and investment between America and Africa happen, according to Meltzer, Biden’s Administration must make and expands trade in agriculture exports, manufactured goods, services and digital trade between America and members of the AGOA countries will be a crucial step and will carry immediate growth and support in these developing countries. Reducing tariffs on agriculture exports from AGOA members will support their economic development. “According to one study, complete elimination of tariffs on agriculture exports from sub-Saharan Africa would increase exports over $105 million compared to what it would otherwise be in 2025” (Meltzer,11,2016). However, the result of removing all tariffs from AGOA members will, “would only reduce U.S. production by $9.6 million” (Meltzer,11,2016). Some of the exemption agriculture products from this reduction of tariffs are sugar, tobacco, dairy, beef, peanuts, cotton, and green olives. These commodities are essential to the American farmers since their production heavily relies on them. Putting them in lower tariffs will make the American farmers’ market too challenging and can reduce the prices of their products.
Growing the American African trade especially in agriculture will help African countries to create job opportunities for the youths, and women since most of these groups involve more in the agriculture labor force. An increase in labor intensity in the agriculture sector in the African countries will contribute a lot to reducing the poverty. the growth of job opportunities will reduce the crimes and the rise of threats to the region’s peace, and stability (Meltzer, 7,2016). On the other side, creating more trade and investment interactions between American and Africa will allow America to defeat China’s war on trade. This will give some of the American companies a new marker to sell their goods and services. Due to Africa’s momentous rise of technological adaptability and usage, might as well allow American tech companies to invest in these new opportunities. Maintaining this trade and its stability between America and Africa might lead the path in the future where America will not need to give or donate aid anymore since these nations are now financially stable.
Partnering with the African countries to defeat terrorism, pirates, and ending ongoing conflicts in the region.
Due to the opportunities that the continent of Africa offers attracted increasingly many diverse nations and global partners who are seeking their way to build and strengthen a unique diplomatic, defense and high commercial interest partnership with the countries in the continent. As the number of these global partners increase so does the security and peace stability of the continent. Some of the new political actors in the continent in these past years were Russia, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, and China. Meanwhile, some of Africa’s former colonial or trade partners are fading away from the political arena, such as Italy, France, and America it gave a chance to the new actors to fill the power vacuum they left behind (Coulibaly, 2019).
Inspired by the lack of economic stability and desperation of financial needs the number of African countries hosting foreign military bases in the region especially in the Horn of Africa increased. According to the Conversation, close to thirteen foreign powers are running functioning military bases in the continent including the private military groups. The African Union (AU) couldn’t do anything about the spread of the enlargement of the foreign military bases on the continent since the African Union’s Security Council doesn’t hold that much power over its members. “China has been particularly active with its military presence in the Horn of Africa. It has become more engaged since 2008 when it participated in the multi-national anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden” (Conversation, 2020). Camp Lemonnier- Djibouti’s military base established by America back in 2003 is now home to America along with China, France, Spain, China, Italy, India, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and many other ones (Conversation, 2020).
However, since the military bilateral agreements bring more financial supports to these hosting countries, and not all of these western countries’ goal isn’t to fight and end terrorist groups and pirates but some of them are only motivated their commercial interests, it’s very important Joe Biden’s Administration come up with better and different approaches to convince the hosting countries to not accept any more foreign military bases in their soil. “The presence of foreign forces on the continent played a significant role fighting terror groups… but there is a downside of having them is that the landscape has of the continent has become overcrowded by having all of them at the same place” (Conversation, 2020).
As stated by Bush II in his 2002 America’s National Security Strategy that the fragile and failing countries are more threat and danger to America’s security. Based on Bush’s perspective America can set a new example of as a foreign military in Africa by coming up with a better strategy to emphasize the state capacity building of the hosting countries. Teaching and supporting them to maintain law and order. Giving military training and equipment support to the military of these fragile nations to combat and fight against on their own any terrorist groups or privates should be the focus of America’s new foreign policy towards Africa. This will create interdependencies of defense, diplomacy, and development between America and the nations in the African region. Having well-trained and equipped militaries in the region who could have against anything that is a threat to their security, peace or the world’s stability should be the long vision of America’s foreign policy in the region. By doing this will allow America and Africa to have a greater emphasis on trade relations, trust between America and the African countries, mutual benefits, and the notion to not need to send American troops overseas to fight against terrorist groups.
Linking America’s aid and democracy to encounter Chinaand Russia’s tyranny of political influence and spread of anti-democracy political behaviors in Africa.
The usage of aid has been an effective and promising foreign policy tool for so many different countries to influence politics overseas. Due to the diverse intentions of the aid providers in the region. Some of the Western countries and organizations in the continent used the offer of aid as an entry ticket to spread their political norms while others like China offered to aid with no strings attached at all. Since America has been using aid to solve and invest in the areas where a lot of Africans were not able to get a supporting hand from their elected governments. According to Sanny and Signe, “directing more aid towards efforts that directly and indirectly lead job creation, or at least making a better case for investment in areas such as education, infrastructure, and electricity is directly tied to economic growth and jobs” can change how the African citizens see the usage of ‘aid’ no a bargaining chip where countries who give want to dictate their politics but rather can see the aid providers as supporting friends whose their cost and benefits are mutually the same (Signe, Sanny, 4,2020). A survey conducted by Afro-barometers in (Figure 3) showed that many African citizens dislike ‘conditioned or string attached aid’ even if the end goal of this conditioned aid is supporting the economic growth of their economy or promoting democracy and the protection of human rights. Or stating the result of this survey, it can be rendered as that the majority of African countries don’t like to be commanded or ordered by ‘outsiders’ (Signe, Sanny, 4,2020).
In addition to that, even though this survey showed that the majority of the African countries are against receiving aid with requirements, Africa has a high younger population who could see their needs such as high support of human rights, more job opportunity, easier world to travel to, can support some of the ‘democratic ideals and institutions’ the American government want to achieve. Another survey conducted Afro-barometers(Figure 4) analyzing the percentage of African citizens who would support democracy and democratic institutions, having accountable government, respecting the presidential limit times or electing directly to their leaders(one-man-one-vote). A valuable lesson this survey shed light on to America’s foreign policy in the future is to support reinforcing and the accountability of governments who receives aid from America to support the protection of human rights, combating against corruption (Signe, Sanny, 8,2020).
If the future American foreign policies towards Africa are based on this view of supporting democracy and staying away from supporting and endorsing political dictators in the region, America will receive the support of the African people who are tired of seeing some of their society getting richer and richer while others are hitting under the poverty line due to the high corruption and poor governance in their nations. Overall, if America’s foreign policy and diplomatic strategies towards Africa keeps supporting the economic growth of the region, empathizing building state capacity and military, maintenance of law and order, enforcing contracts, reduction of corruption, protection of private property, human rights, improvement of the healthcare system, and education; since all of these are the most needed areas and supported by the majority of the African citizens will help America overcoming China and Russia’s influence in the region. By this approach of linking America’s aid and democracy to encounter China, and Russia’ tyranny political influence and spread of anti-democracy political behaviors in the continent, would be, “efficient, effective, and impactful, without necessarily having to match China’s pledged $60 billion in loans, aid, and broader financial support to the region” (Signe, Sanny, 10,2020).
Limitations
Since I recommended that the creation of functioning and powerful trade and investment between America, and Africa can increase the political and economic interactions between America and Africa, one of the reasons why this recommendation might be limited is due to the development and economic current stage of many African countries which makes them to not be ready to have a ‘fair trade’ with America. Besides the fairness of the trade, another problem that both America and the African countries need to overcome is the lack of applicable trade infrastructures such as airports, roads, and ports in order to prepare the trade market. Without appropriate and professional trade landmarks to put this recommendation into action is like going outside and looking for the stars on a bright sunny day.
Other limitations to my recommendation are the incompatibility of the American’s democracy and core values such as freedom of speech might go against the generations-old traditions and customs of many countries in the regions that don’t like to fit in or change despite whether their practices are good or bad. Having China and Russia in the region who are both willing to give aid and donations without conditions or strings attached limits the effectiveness of America’s aid since many leaders from the continent are favoring more to receive the money without any questions following by how it has been spent. This will put the American government in a position where not that many countries want to receive aid from America.
Alternative(s)
One of the alternatives to my recommendations is the option of Biden’s Administrations leaving physically and politically the continent completely. The main reason why this alternative is not as good as my recommendations of creating American foreign politics that involves economically, politically, and physically throughout the use of the military is that leaving Africa behind will give a big win to major powers like Russia and China who have been active actors a lot in the region. According to Yachyshen, China’s plan of overtaking the region consist of two major plans- the first one the method known as the “Angola Model”. This method’s main goal is to give funding grants and loans to an underdeveloped resource-rich country with the hope that they will not be able to pay back the loan on time or nor later. This allows China to be in a position of demanding natural resources in return (Yachyshen, 1,2021). The second system “multiple Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOE) undertaking ambitious infrastructure projects ranging from railways, including the 3.2 billion USD Mombasa railway in Kenya, to dams, such as the 1 billion USD Soubry mega-dam in Côte D’Ivoire” (Yachyshen, 1,2021). Djibouti is facing today similar situation as Angola since it couldn’t pay back the loans given by the Chinese government. Djibouti which is a geopolitical strategic area might end up in the hands of China.
In this alternative, China will overtake many more other countries in the region and it will not allow the American government to have a voice or influence in the region. On top of that, China overtaking developing resource-rich countries in the region will make it harder for America to compete against China in the global market and trade. This might be another reason could lose its trade war against China.
Conclusion
In today’s reality, many powerful nation’s foreign policies are failing due to the misalignment between their cost and benefits compared with the other countries they want to help. For example, if a nation’s foreign policy overseas is to invade another one or fight against a particular group and in that note if the nation who is using this strategy is paying less the price of their results such as dealing with the aftermath of that nation’s failing and this type of foreign policy will be work. As a nation trying to use this type of foreign policy, you will always keep failing and lose potential ally members. It is insane to see America using the same foreign policy towards Africa in the past thirty years despite whether there are new challenging members in the region, or as a result, there had been more failures than successes. However, Biden’s Administration needs to reform its foreign policy towards Africa through the lenses of military, aid, diplomacy, and trade. Sooner or later, if this reform does not happen, many potential developing countries hoping to become a developed nation one day will say goodbye to democracy and good governance and, in return, will admire China and Russia’s politics and leadership. Disregarding interacting with the region will also be a significant loss to many generous American people who put into much work, time, and investment to elevate the developing nations in the region—coming up with a foreign policy that has the plan of creating a functioning and robust trade and investment between America, and Africa. Partnering with the African countries to defeat terrorism, pirates, and ending ongoing conflicts in the region, and finally, linking America’s aid and democracy to encounter China and Russia’ political influence and spread of anti-democracy political behaviors in the continent is the best way to approach and reform America’s foreign policy towards Africa through the eyes of America’s instruments of foreign policy.
Sources
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“Bureau for Africa.” U.S. Agency for International Development, www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/organization/bureaus/bureau-africa. Accessed 5 May 2021.
“U.S. Relations With Libya.” United States Department of State, www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-libya.
Gyimah-Boadi, E. Landry Signé. “US Foreign Policy Toward Africa: An African Citizen Perspective.” Brookings, 23 Oct. 2020, www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2020/10/23/us-foreign-policy-toward-africa-an-african-citizen-perspective.
Meltzer, Joshua. “Deepening the United States-Africa Trade and Investment Relationship.” Brookings, 28 July 2016, www.brookings.edu/testimonies/deepening-the-united-states-africa-trade-and-investment-relationship.
Neethling, Theo. “Why Foreign Countries Are Scrambling to Set up Bases in Africa.” The Conversation, 15 Sept. 2020, theconversation.com/why-foreign-countries-are-scrambling-to-set-up-bases-in-africa-146032.
Stevenson, John R. “United States. Section 620 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. As Amended by Section 301(D) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1962.” American Journal of International Law, vol. 57, no. 3, 1963, pp. 749–50. Crossref, doi:10.2307/2196121.
The Challenge of Decolonization in Africa, exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-challenge-of-decolonization-africa.html. (African colonization)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sayidcali Ismail Ahmed is an alumnus of Abaarso School of Science and Technology (Somaliland) and Carroll High School (Indiana-USA). Sayidcali won a full scholarship sponsored by MasterCard Foundation Scholars (African Leadership Academy) to attend and do his undergraduate studies at Westminster College(Missouri- USA). He is double majoring in political science & Global and Transnational Studies and minoring in law. He is passionate about discussing, analyzing, and writing about geopolitics’ dynamics and the political changes in the world, especially in Africa.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of Somaliland Chronicle, and its staff.
According to a statement from the Director of Somaliland Civil Aviation, Mr. Omar-Sayid Abdillahi Adan Qalinle, Fly Dubai Airlines will resume flights to Egal International after it has fulfilled the government requirements and Somaliland and the United Arab Emirates Civil Aviation authorities have signed agreements.
One of the reasons cited by the Somaliland government for banning Fly Dubai was related to the airline’s compliance with an order from the Federal Government of Somalia to abort a flight to Somaliland following its COVID-19 related ban on all flights. Ethiopian Airlines has rejected a similar order from the Somali government and continued its flights into Somaliland. In addition, necessary operational agreements for the airline were not in place.
In addition to Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, another Emirati-owned airline was banned from Somaliland at the same time. There was no mention of this airline resuming flight to Somaliland and if negotiations are still ongoing.
There have been ongoing negotiations between the government of Somaliland and Fly Dubai since it was banned from Somaliland in March 2020. It has been four months since President Bihi has fired the Previous Director of Somaliland Civil Aviation Mr. Mohamed Abdi Rodol and replaced him with Mr. Omar-Sayid Abdillahi Adan Qalinle.
TAIWAN REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOMALILAND
Sha’ab Area, Hargeisa, Somaliland
Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland is pleased to announce that thirteen students are awarded Taiwan Scholarship and seven students are awarded the Taiwan ICDF Scholarship in 2021 (Please see the attached list).
It’s the first time that Taiwan Government awards 20 (twenty) Scholarships awardees after Taiwan Representative Office was officially established on 17th August 2020. Moreover, there are some Somaliland students are awarded separately by the Taiwanese universities with a full or partial scholarship.
According to the attached list, most of the students major on the fields such as Healthcare, Tropical Agriculture, ICT, Soil and Water Conservation that Somaliland in need for national development. This Office believes that the scholarships awardees will return to Somaliland to contribute what they learned in Taiwan.
Taiwan Representative Office congratulates those students on the praiseworthy result of their applications for the Scholarships and uses this opportunity to thank Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperatlon, Ministry of Education and Science and National Commission for Higher Education which jointly implement the Taiwan- Somaliland Education cooperation.
Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland will organize an orientation for the Scholarships awardees, hold an official awarding ceremony in August, issue the visas and facilitate logistic supports to travel to Taiwan.
Taiwan Scholarship Somaliland awardees
Series
Name
Study School
l
Abdirisak Ismail Qalinle
Master of Arts in Critical and Curatorial Studies of Contemporary Art National Taipei University of Education
2
Bashir Hussan Daud
Master Program of Soil and Water Conservation National Pingtung University of Science and Technology
3
Umalkhair Jama Mohamoud
Master Program of Public Health China Medical University
4
Mustafe Abdi Farah
Master Program of Civil and Construction Engineering National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
5
Salma Ahmed Saed
Master Program of Public Health China Medical University
6
Jibril Abdi Mead
Master Program in Telecommunication Engineering National Sun Yat-sen University
7
Hamda Nowlid Ismail
Master Program in Food Science and Biotechnology National Chung Hsing University
8
Mustefa Ibrahim Farah
Ph. D Degree in Healthcare Administration Asia University
9
Abdirahman Hussein Muse
Ph. D Degree of Civil Engineering Feng Chia University
10
Muna Mahamud Musa
Master Degree in Clinic Laboratory Science Asia University
11
Abdirisak Ibrahim Farah
Master Program of Civil and Construction Engineering National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
12
Mohamed Ibrahim Abdi
Master Program of Information Management National Dong Hwa University
13
Hussein Mohamed Mohamud
Bachelor Degree in the medical field
TaiwanICDF Scholarship Somaliland awardees
Series
Name
Study Program
1
Abdisamad Abiid Omar
Master Program in Tropical Agriculture National Pingtung University of Science and Technology
2
Axmed Yuusuf Xasan
Graduate Institute of International Human Resource Development National Taiwan Normal University
3
Abdirahman Ahmed Jama
Master Program in International Health National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
4
Abdiaziz Ahmed Hashi
International Master Program in Electric Power Engineering National Sun Yat-sen University
5
Mohamed Aden Ali
International Master Program in Civil Engineering and Management National Cheng Kung University
6
Abdirashid Ahmed Mohamoud
International Master Program in Civil Engineering and Management National Cheng Kung University
7
Mohamed Abdalle Osman
Master Program in International Health National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Kenya is constructing a railway line that connects the coastal port of Mombasa and the interior of the country. It is expected to terminate at Malaba, a town on the border with Uganda, and link up with other railways that are being built in East Africa. It’s locally known as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
The passenger and freight railway line is one of the biggest infrastructure investments in Kenya’s history. Construction began in 2014 at an estimated cost of US$3.8 billion, 90% of which is supplied by a loan from the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China and 10% from the Kenyan government.
Although the actual land area affected by the railway itself is small, parts of it are raised and it cuts through a wide range of the country’s ecologically fragile and important ecosystems. For instance, the railway cuts across Tsavo Conservation Area (which supports about 40% of Kenya’s elephant population) and the Nairobi National Park. It also traverses range lands in southern Kenya that support pastoral communities and are vulnerable to the impacts of climate and changes in land use.
My colleagues and I carried out a study to gain insights into all the impacts the railway was having on the environment.
The construction of the railway is being done in three phases. The first two phases (now completed) cover 610km. The third phase is still under construction. Our study focused along the entire stretch of the first two phases, covering eight counties from Mombasa to Narok.
Map of the railway corridor.
The project involves many stakeholders including various levels of government (such as the National Environment Management Authority and Kenya Wildlife Service), local communities, civil society organisations and the private sector. For our study, we hosted group interviews and meetings with 54 key informants from all these sectors.
We found that the construction and operation of the railways has degraded, fragmented and destroyed key ecosystems. It increased soil erosion, land degradation, flooding and habitat destruction. It also affected water bodies and wildlife movement.
Environmental impact assessments for the railway were conducted, and these are of an international standard. The final reports, which included recommendations, were written to facilitate licensing by the National Environment Management Authority, the government regulator.
However, it’s become clear that the recommendations weren’t fully implemented. Several observers identified a lack of funding, technical capacity and political interference as some of the barriers.
Project proponents must develop measures that properly mitigate the key ecosystem challenges and ensure they’re enforced.
Impact on land
Participants in our study identified that the railway line had an impact on soil, water and air contamination, during construction and operation of the line.
During construction, soil was compacted and excavated. It was also moved from one location to another to erect embankments. This has many effects on the environment. For instance, Community Forest Association officials (around the coastal mangrove forests in Mombasa) observed that sediment, eroded from the rail embankments, affected streams and plants. They said that:
not only did it affect mangroves seed development and self-germination but also blocked streams and reduced the stream size…
Another challenge was that underpasses were built to allow for movement under the railway. This is because the railway is raised. But these underpasses redirected surface water and rainfall courses. Respondents from Narok county observed that this led to erosion, leading to the siltation of water sources, including Lake Magadi – a unique saline, alkaline lake which is surrounded by wildlife and a major source of trona. This is a sodium carbonate compound that is processed into soda ash or bicarbonate of soda.
Another impact was the blasting of land for construction material. Communities around Nairobi said that this caused tremors, sometimes causing buildings to crack.
Flooding
Floods have been a major challenge. To avoid cutting through the railway embankments, contractors rerouted natural surface water flows (such as streams) to the underpasses.
But this led to increases in the volume and speed of the water flow which caused flooding and soil erosion. This was compounded by the clearing of surrounding vegetation, which would usually slow water down.
In Voi, county officials explained how storm water flooded low lying homesteads and farms during heavy rains.
A blocked river in Kitengela.
In addition, silt from construction led to the blockage or drying up of rivers, notably the Empakashe and Mbagathi rivers around Nairobi. Most communities in these areas rely on the rivers for domestic consumption, watering their livestock and irrigation agriculture.
Pollution
Another concern was oil spills. These occurred due to fuel transport accidents and because of train and railway maintenance activities.
For instance, local officials in Kibwezi County said that an oil spill polluted the Thange River. Now the river can’t be used for irrigation or domestic purposes. The land in the affected area is still unsafe for cultivation.
Noise pollution was also reported during construction and operation of the railway, particularly in the areas around Nairobi and Voi. Some communities were unable to sleep and school classes were disrupted due to the noise levels.
Dust pollution was an additional challenge. There were reports of coughs and chest pain.
Communities relying on wetlands and rivers in Voi, Kibwezi, Tuala and Narok areas lost access to some of these critical resources, and the long-term prospects are unclear.
An additional impact of the railway was the emergence of illegal activities, such as grazing in protected areas.
Officials of the Kenya Wildlife Service observed that:
local communities {were} using the underpasses to pass their livestock through to Tsavo National Park particularly around Buchuma gate.
The livestock incursions resulted in serious soil degradation in the southern part of Tsavo East.
Wildlife was also affected. About 120km of the line traverses through a key wildlife area, Kenya’s Tsavo National Park.
We learnt that elephants displayed early signs of behavioural modification. This included aggression and avoidance of the railway area.
Linear infrastructure projects like the railway must develop sustainable and ecologically sensitive measures to mitigate these impacts.
For example, underpasses must be at the right density and of the right size. At present, the underpasses are few and are located in areas not used regularly by wildlife.
In addition, water courses should be channelled and redirected to avoid flooding.
Furthermore another full assessment, involving all stakeholders, is needed of the environmental impacts of the railway. This is key to designing a sustainable railway. It must ensure that development gains are maximised while the ecosystem impacts are minimised.
The former Mayor of Hargeisa Mr. Abdirahman Mahmoud Aideed SOLTELCOLCO has approved dozens of public land plots for private individuals during and after the mayoral race that concluded on May 31st, 2021. This is according to multiple sources privy to the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Sources add that ex-mayor SOLTELCO is planning to hand over millions of dollars worth of debt to the incoming Mayor Mr. Abdikarim Ahmed Moge.
Although the number of land plots and the size of the debt are not fully clear yet, some sources have indicated that the number of plots of land approved for transfer to private hands by ex-mayor SOLTELCO could be as high as 54 blocks or 540 plots of land and the debt could be in the millions.
After the election and prior to Mr. Moge taking the office, a renewed land grab has been reported in Hargeisa and its vicinity.
Mr. Jama Haji Ahmed Abdi, the Governor of the Marodijeh region who spoke of the ongoing land grab, has warned the outgoing local council members and stated that authorities halted several construction sites spending an investigation. It is unclear if the plots he mentioned include the dozens of blocks approved by ex-mayor SOLTELCO. The Governor did not say if any legal actions to prevent the land grab were underway.
There is no indication that Mayor Moge and his predecessor have discussed the land transfer and the debt and if President Bihi is aware of these issues. President Bihi was instrumental in Mr. Moge’s effort to avoid a protracted race among elected council members for mayor.
It is also unclear if these issues were discussed in Mayor Moge and ex-mayor SOLTELCO’s latest meeting with the Minister of Interior Hon. Mohamed Kahin and Somaliland Chief of Police Brigadier General Mohamed Adan Saqadhi Mohamoud (Dabagale). The boilerplate statement from the Ministry of Interior did not state the purpose of the meeting. The Ministry of Interior has a major oversight role in Somaliland local municipalities.
The newly elected Mayor of Hargeisa, Mr. Abdikarim Ahmed Moge’s position on public lands transfer to private individuals by ex-mayor SOLTELCO during and after the elections and, the debt is unknown. Sources close to him say that he is likely to contest and may ask for an audit to understand the size of the debt, its holders, and other relevant information to find out its legitimacy.
In the last several years, the Hargeisa Local Municipality has been audited just once by the Auditor General’s office of Somaliland. The outcome of its audit was not made public. Corruption has been pervasive in many parts of the Somaliland government, particularly local municipalities whose jurisdiction includes public lands. Skyrocketing prices have made land the most valuable commodity in Somaliland.
Our efforts to reach the newly elected mayor of Hargeisa Mr. Abdikarim Ahmed Moge and his predecessor Mr. Abdirahman Mahmoud Aideed SOLTELCO for comments were unsuccessful.
Somaliland was amongst the seventeen African countries that attained their independence in 1960, “The Year of Africa.” A former Italian colony, Somalia merged on the day it became independent with the former British protectorate of Somaliland in 1960 to form the Somali Republic. Somaliland had itself gained its full sovereignty five days earlier. The objective was to reconstitute the “Greater Somalia” of the pre-colonial era, which had included Kenya, Ethiopia, and the future Djibouti, which was at that time under French control” (Chiwanza, 2017).
Unfortunately, Somalilanders did not get a chance to fully enjoy their newfound independence on June 26, 1960, but instead, they found themselves empty-handed soon after the merger with, then a former Italian colony, Somalia.
“…The newly unified Somali Republic‘s parliament promptly created a new Act of Union for all of Somalia, but this new Act was widely rejected in the former State of Somaliland. Regardless, the southern-dominated parliament ordered a referendum in the entire country to confirm the Act of Union. Much of the north’s population boycotted the referendum, and just 100,000 northerners voted at all. Of these, over 60% of those were against the union under the new Act” (“1961 revolt in Somalia”, 2019).
A year after the merger of the two independent nations Somaliland and Somalia, a group of young army officers from Somaliland who realized that the union was a hoax decided to restore their lost independence in December, 1961. Although, they did not succeed in the attempted coup, it was the beginning of a long evolving struggle of Somalilanders to win back their country and reclaim their independence once again.
After the failed coup, the struggle continued and evolved into different forms of resistance through the years following the union.
After the civilian government was overthrown in October 1969 by the late military dictator Siad Bare, he immediately imposed new repression tactics against Somalilanders. These repression tactics were systematic in nature and were designed to break the Somalilanders’ spirit, deprive economical gains, weaken their educational achievements, and removing top senior government officials by replacing them with unqualified, loyal individuals and members of his tribe.
The former dictator denied commercial license permits and revoked existing ones from traders and the business community. The higher education medium of instruction was in Italian, therefore, students from Somaliland were `obligated to learn a new language (Italian) after they graduate from high school in order to continue a college education. There was no single college in Somaliland in three decades during the union with the former Italian colony. Intimidations, detentions, and harassments of Somaliland intellectuals and artists were common. Yet, the resistance continued and assumed a different form in the early 70s spearheaded by artists through public awareness by creating plays and composing poems carrying messages against the brutal dictator. These talented brave men were subjected to routine detentions without trials and were kept in jail for decades.
Among these talented and selfless intellectuals and artists who put their lives on the line to educate their fellow Somalis were the following legends, Mohamed Ibrahim Hadrawi, Abdi Aadan Haad (Qays), the late Mohamed Haashi Dhama (Gaariye), and other many brave men and women.
The revolt that started in 1961 by young junior officers continued in different forms throughout the years, however, at the beginning of the 80s it morphed into another form of armed struggle and the “Somali National Movement” (SNM) was formed on April 6. 1981 in London and eventually established their armed unit inside Ethiopia. SNM consisted of two integral and collaborative parts based on skillset and subject matter expertise. This division of labor between the armed units and top political executives made problem-solving and addressing complex issues much easier.
The top military brass command officers had the advantage of having led a real wartime experience in the Ethiopia/Somalia war of 1977 in which they were successful in defeating the most powerful Ethiopian military in a very short period after the engagement.
While in the process of building and enlisting fighters inside Ethiopia, they were not getting military supplies and other supportive materials from Ethiopia except the permission to operate within their borders.
During this period, Mengistu Haile Mariam of Ethiopia was having a problem of his own from Eritrean fighters, while battalions of his arm forces were protecting the Somalian/Ethiopian border. On the other side of the border, Siad Bare was facing armed movements operating in Ethiopia. To quash these resistances, Mengistu and Siad Bare agreed in their meeting in Djibouti in 1988 to halt supporting the forces against them and shift their priorities. Mengistu immediately notified the leaders of SNM to wrap it up and end their fight and leave his country. This unexpected move from Ethiopia was a major below to SNM’s plans since Ethiopia served as their location of regrouping and retreat during their operations in Somalia. SNM did not have significant fighters and adequate military equipment to face the Somali National Army. SNM executives and military leaders met for few days to come up with a viable resolution and where to go from there. The SNM fighters had a prior number of sophisticated rescue missions including the rescue of Abdillahi Asker a fellow military officer and the break-in operation of the Mandheera prison where they rescued innocent businessmen, students, and other political prisoners.
After intense deliberations, they decided to move forward and face head-on the ugly reality, understanding clearly that there is nowhere to retreat or regroup. At that moment the number of SNM fighters range from 2400-2800 equipped with light weapons, against a mighty mechanized Somali National Army, spread along the border. To a lot of people, this seemed like a suicidal operation or a mission impossible. Yet, they marched on.
The biggest Somali military bases at that time were located in Hargeisa, now the capital of Somaliland and the second capital Burao. The SNM leaders decided, instead of engaging the Somali military in direct combat, they decided to bypass the front-line army and went straight to attack the two major bases inside.
Miraculously, the mighty military force of Somalia which had defeated the most powerful Ethiopian military within days of the armed conflict was eventually defeated and humiliated by a mere 2500-2800 fighters with no significant training and over-numbered brave men and women Somaliland fighters. Thirteen Somaliland young female fighters participated in those final direct combat missions.
Finally, they liberated their country and people from a brutal dictator and reclaimed their independence once again on May 18, 1991.
On the other hand, Somaliland just recently successfully held the seventh national election which consisted of twin elections of parliamentary and local governments. It was the most transparent, free, and fair election in the history of Africa according to the multi-national, organizations and representatives from different governments around the world. Another significant factor, they defied and transcended tribal endorsement and support of candidates, which allowed a minority candidate to win the majority of the vote in the parliamentary race.
The developed nations, United Nations, African countries, and other world-leading democracies should pay attention and support Somaliland to gain recognition. Somaliland did not secede from Somalia. Somaliland reclaimed its independence for the second time. It is a rebirth of a nation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mohamed Adan Samatar is a Former State of Arizona Government Management and holds BSc, MS Agriculture. He can be reached madan.samatar01[@]gmail.com
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of Somaliland Chronicle, and its staff.
The President of the Republic of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi has inaugurated the completion of the first phase of the modernization and expansion of Berbera Port, which started in late 2018.
Following the successful Parliamentary and Local council elections that were held on May 31st and days away from its independence day of June 26th, the completion of the 442 million dollar expansion is another milestone that makes Somaliland a major player in global trade and puts it in direct competition with other regional ports including Djibouti’s flagship Daroleh port.
Speaking at the event, President Bihi said “This is a proud and historic moment for Somaliland and its people, as the completion of the first phase has made our vision of establishing Berbera with its strategic location into a major trade hub in the region a reality. With the new terminal, along with the second phase of expansion and economic zone along the Berbera corridor, we are now firmly positioned to further develop and grow our economy through increased trade, attracting foreign direct investment and creating jobs”.
At the inauguration event, President Bihi and DP World officials announced a second expansion phase that will extend the port’s quay from 400 meters to 1,000 and add seven more STS gantry cranes to allow the port to handle up to two million TEUs a year and multiple large container vessels at the same time.
“Our further expansion of the port in a second phase, and its integration with the special economic zone we are developing along the Berbera Corridor, reflects our confidence in Berbera and intent to develop it into a significant, world-class center of trade. It will be a viable, efficient, and competitive option for trade in the region, especially for Ethiopian transit cargo,” said Mr. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the DP World Group Chairman, and CEO.
Over 200 people attended the inauguration event, including an Ethiopian government delegation led by their Excellencies Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, and Dagmawit Moges, Minister of Transport. Ethiopia has a population of 112 million is landlocked is Somaliland’s largest trade partner holds a 19% stake in Berbera Port.
Besides the port upgrade and modernization by DP World, the construction of a major highway project dubbed Berbera Corridor funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) is underway. The Berbera Corridor will link Berbera Port to DP World’s 1 billion dollars dry port facility recently announced on the Ethiopian side. The United Kingdom is funding a 22.5 kilometer Hargeisa Bypass section of the Berbera Corridor.
Although Somaliland has not gained international recognition, it has been successfully attracted direct foreign investment from some of the world’s largest corporations, such as DP World and Trafigura.
In order to enhance Somaliland’s maternal and infant health care capacity, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the government of the Republic of Somaliland have commenced the “Maternal and Infant Health Care Improvement Project” under the framework of the “ICDF (International Cooperation and Development Fund) Technical Cooperation Agreement”. This bilateral cooperation demonstrates the spirit of “Taiwan model” assistance which not only provides tangible equipment (hard power) but also enhances capacity-building (soft power).
Ambassador of Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland Allen C. LOU said at the ceremony that the “Maternal and Infant Health Care Improvement Program” is a joint effort of the Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland, Taiwan ICDF, Kaohsiung Medical University, and the Ministry of Health Development of Somaliland. According to the signed implementing arrangement, Taiwan agreed to fund nearly US$300,000 this year to purchase prioritized medical equipment including two ambulances, a portable ultrasound machine, an infant incubator, infant and adult O2 oximeters, and so on. We cherish every infant in Somaliland’s hope so we are glad to share the experience with Somaliland to help infants and their mothers to have better medical care.
Ambassador also mentioned that the Medical Cooperation Agreement signed on 16th June 2021 by Taiwan and Somaliland Foreign Ministers will lay the legal foundation for further healthcare cooperation in Somaliland. And about 1/3 of the Taiwan ICDF and Scholarship granted to Somaliland students are relating to healthcare studies in Taiwan. Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland tries to integrate the ongoing cooperation horizontally and vertically to maximize the cooperation effect to benefit the Somaliland people directly and without leaving any “debt traps”. That is the Taiwan-model cooperation in Somaliland.
Minister Omar of the Ministry of Health Development said that health care knows no borders. The Somaliland government is committed to improving the national medical environment. It is grateful to the Taiwan government for continuing to provide Somaliland with medical and anti-COVID-19 medical supplies. Under this project, Taiwan will help to train some seed trainers to improve their profession and skills in the future.
A friend in need is a friend indeed. Taiwan is helping and Taiwan has long been contributing on many fronts. We believe that after more and more African countries understand what is Taiwan-model cooperation in Somaliland, they will further to support “Let Taiwan help”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Somaliland has unveiled the Country Profile information booklet. In a ceremony headlined by the Vice President of Somaliland HE Abdirahman Abdallahi Ismail Saylici, the Deputy and Acting Foreign Minister of International Cooperation Hon Liban Yusuf Osman and attended by other ministers including the Minister of Finance, Dr. Saad Ali Shire is intended to convey Somaliland’s story, past and present, and its and legal case for recognition to the outside world.
Vice President Saylici has congratulated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for compiling the information in the booklet and described it and the information it contains as the genealogy of Somaliland and a vital tool to ensure others know about the Republic of Somaliland and its history and said that it needs to be widely available locally and overseas.
The Deputy and Acting Foreign Minister of International Cooperation Hon. Liban Yusuf Osman who also spoke at the unveiling event stated that the information compiled in the booklet is meant to counter false information about the Republic of Somaliland on the web and elsewhere and added that it focuses on eight primary areas geography, demographics, historical background, the rebirth of Somaliland, legal case of Somaliland, economy, and investment potential.
The Minister of Finance Dr. Sa’ad Ali Shire emphasized the importance of widely disseminating the information to heads of state, African Union members, and the United Nations and said that “if we are not seen or heard, we do not exist”. He also stated that the profile information needs to be made available in Somali.
The 76 page Country Profile document has been underway for about 19 months and has cost close to 21,000 US dollars from the Recognition Fund. It is unclear if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation plans to launch a digital campaign to disseminate the information by creating a mobile application or if it will be sent around in hard copies or digital format. The Country profile is available for download below.
