President Uhuru and Somaliland leader Musa Abdi hold talks

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi at Statehouse on Monday, December 14, 2020. [Courtesy, PSCU]

President Uhuru Kenyatta met Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi on Monday for bilateral talks to boost cooperation between the two countries.  

According to a statement from the State House, the two heads of state held bilateral talks on “subjects of mutual interest” to initiate development projects.  

 “The two delegations are set to meet again tomorrow, Tuesday, December 15, 2020, to finalize the talks,” read the statement from State House.

The meeting is aimed at creating diplomatic ties between Kenya and Somaliland. This will offer Nairobi an opportunity to have presence in Hargeisa-the capital of Somaliland. The meeting is also geared to strengthen security, social and economic relations between the two countries.

Delegates from Kenya and Somaliland together with President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Musa Bihi Abdi? meeting at State House on Monday, December 14, 2020. [Courtesy, PSCU]

Even though Somaliland became a self-declared country in 1991, it has gotten little recognition for its status as an independent state. It is still internationally considered to be part of Somalia.

However, the country has also turned over its unlucky fate of not being recognised by the international community by reaching out and developing ties with Non-United Nations members such as the Republic of China and other countries such as South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom and its neighbours such as Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Unlike its neighbours, which have been plagued with perpetual conflict over the years— the country has remained relatively peaceful.

Residents of Somaliland sit under a war memorial of a MiG fighter jet in the centre of town in Hargeisa, May 19, 2013. [File, Feisal Omar, Reuters]

Somaliland’s decision to court Kenya is also timely following Mogadishu’s expulsion of Kenyan diplomat to Somalia Maj Fen (rtd) Lucas Tambo and its recalling ambassadors to Kenya. 

The move increased diplomatic tensions between Nairobi and Mogadishu even as the conflict over the maritime border continues. 

Musa Bihi Abdi arrived in the country on Sunday, December 13, 2020, for a three-day official visit.