Somaliland will grant US access to military bases and resources

Somaliland has granted the US access to its military bases and mineral resources. The deal comes just months after Israel recognised the new state. And colonial powers old and new, namely the UK and UAE, are in the mix too.

The new nation, a breakaway from Somalia, has only been recognised by Israel so far. The minister of the presidency Khadar Hussein Abdi said on 21 February:

We are willing to give exclusive [access to our minerals] to the United States. Also, we are open to offer military bases to the United States.

Adding:

We believe that we will agree on something with the United States.

Somaliland original declared autonomy from Somalia in the late 1990s. Israel’s recognition of Somaliland was slammed by Somalian officials at a UN session in December 2025:

Somaliland has huge strategic importance in the Horn of Africa, an area increasingly riven by regional and foreign ambitions.

Al Jazeera reported:

Somaliland lies across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, where Houthi rebels have often attacked Israeli assets to show solidarity with Palestinians.

Adding that:

Somaliland officials have said their natural resources include lithium, coltan and other sought-after materials although independent studies are lacking.

But this isn’t just about local ambitions.

Israel and the Gulf cold war

Meanwhile Somaliland’s former president had demanded all details of a deal with Israel be disclosed. Muse Bihi Abdi said on 20 February:

The government has not yet disclosed what was agreed upon with Israel, and they are expected to do so.

If it turns out that the agreement violates our constitution, harms any Muslim, or fails to equally serve our mutual interests, then we will speak out about it.

The region was aggressively colonised by multiple imperial powers. As Middle East Eye (MEE) explained:

From 1884 until 1960, the region was governed by the UK as the Somaliland Protectorate, situated between Italian Somaliland (current Somalia) and French Somaliland (now Djibouti).

On 26 June 1960, Somaliland became independent from the UK. Five days later, it voluntarily united with Italian Somaliland to form Somalia.

These bitter colonial legacies endure alongside new extractive relationships.

Abraham Accords

Somaliland is one of several countries in the region which has signed up to the US-led Abraham Accords. The Accords require signatories to recognize Israel and normalise relations with the settler-colonial state.

MEE said that access to ports as well as proximity to Yemen and the Suez Canal were driving Israeli support. Israel’s close ally UAE has been engaging with Somaliland since the 2010s and has a port and a military base in the statelet.

The UAE’s cold war with Saudi Arabia, which is closer to the Somalian government, is also playing out through Somaliland, whose territory UAE has used to ship weapons to Sudan’s genocidal paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). MEE published a compelling breakdown of the competing actors, interests and networks in the region here. 

The UK is watching and waiting

The UK, an old colonial power in the region, still has ambitions for Somaliland. While the UK has not formally recognised Somaliland, it was one of several European countries to sign an infrastructure deal in 2020.

And in 2023, Tory MP Gavin Williamson lobbied the House of Commons for the UK to recognise Somaliland:

I recognise that maybe a nation of 5.7 million people does not seem significant to Britain, but it is significant.

He said Somaliland:

plays a pivotal role in terms of Africa, and I urge this House to take the action that is required to support the Republic of Somaliland and make sure that we deliver for the people of Somaliland as they have defended what we value so dearly, which is democracy and freedom.

Berbera port

African media reported the UK, UAE and others were close to recognition in January 2026. A source told DNE Africa:

Yes, there are a number of countries that are currently pushing this. Some of them include the list that has been published. I don’t think the government is in a position to disclose the identity of the other countries at this stage.

The UK also has a financial stake in Berbera port, which is at the centre of UAE and Israeli interests in the region:

The UK’s stake in Berbera port is held through the government’s foreign investment arm, British International Investment (BII), which jointly owns the strategic Horn of Africa port with the UAE’s logistics behemoth DP World and the Government of Somaliland.

It is significant that the first country to recognise Somaliland was Israel. It sounds like the UK, UAE and US aren’t far behind. Its location has already made it a key meeting point for the neocolonial ambitions of global and regional actors. If national autonomy is what people of Somaliland desire – and they’ve waited 30 years to get it – they couldn’t do much worse than the combination of colonialist allies their leaders have aligned with.

Featured image via the Canary