MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia has offered to renew a longstanding agreement granting the United States access to its ports and airports for military use, positioning itself as the sole lawful partner for such cooperation amid a competing overture from the breakaway region of Somaliland, Bloomberg reported Monday.
The proposal revives a framework dating to 1980 and comes as regional powers intensify their security engagement with the Horn of Africa nation, prized for its strategic location at the entrance to the Red Sea and near Yemen’s conflict zone.
“Somalia and the US have a longstanding cooperation framework, including a 1980 agreement on port and airport access for US military purposes,” Ali Mohamed Omar Balcad, the state minister for foreign affairs, said in response to questions. “The federal government has recently offered to renew that agreement, which remains the appropriate and lawful channel for any security cooperation.”
Somalia’s move follows remarks by a senior official in Somaliland, the semi-autonomous region that declared independence from Somalia in 1991, who said it is prepared to grant the United States access to mineral resources and military facilities as part of a broader diplomatic outreach.
Mogadishu regards Somaliland as part of its sovereign territory, despite the region’s decades-long push for international recognition. Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent state in December, a development that further complicated the political landscape.
Foreign governments including Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have deepened military ties with Somalia in recent years, drawn by its strategic position along vital maritime corridors. Across the Gulf of Aden in Yemen, Houthi rebels have threatened key shipping lanes, heightening the region’s geopolitical significance.
For Washington, engagement with Somalia has largely focused on counterterrorism operations targeting the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militant group and fighters affiliated with the Islamic State organization.
Balcad emphasized that only Somalia’s federal authorities can enter into binding agreements concerning the country’s territory and natural resources.
“Somalia’s position is straightforward: all agreements involving Somalia’s territory, ports, airspace, or strategic natural resources must be concluded through the constitutional institutions of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” Balcad said. “Any announcement by a regional administration that implies ‘exclusive rights’ in the minerals sector, or seeks to bind external parties, has no legal validity.”
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