MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, widely known as Irro, on Wednesday made a high-profile visit to Djibouti in a diplomatic push to reset relations with the tiny Horn of Africa nation, following years of political unease between the two neighbours.
In his first regional tour since taking office, Irro met with Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed for wide-ranging talks aimed at restoring trust and paving the way for greater cooperation between Hargeisa and Djibouti.
The visit comes amid heightened sensitivities in Djibouti over Somaliland’s growing international engagements and its openness to hosting foreign military bases, including from the United States and Ethiopia—moves perceived by Djibouti as potentially undercutting its strategic relevance in the Horn of Africa.
Diplomatic sources say President Irro used the meeting to offer assurances that Somaliland’s bid for international recognition and its expanding geopolitical outreach would not come at the expense of Djibouti’s interests.
“Djibouti was his first choice because it is an important neighbour with whom Hargeisa has a fraught relationship at the moment,” said Rashid Abdi, a Horn of Africa expert at Nairobi-based Sahan Research. “Irro made a good choice to visit Djibouti first and to seek to reassure the Red Sea State it has nothing to fear from Somaliland’s rising international profile, a win for Somaliland does not equate to a loss for Djibouti.”
Analysts say the visit reflects a pragmatic recalibration of Somaliland’s foreign policy, aimed at defusing regional anxieties and positioning Hargeisa as a cooperative actor in the geopolitics of the Red Sea corridor.
Contact us: info@somaliguardian.com
