Somaliland has said it has the full right to choose which countries and parties it has relations with, saying that pressure from China and Somalia has not changed its relationship with Taiwan, Reuters reported.
The statement was made by Somaliland’s Representative to Taiwan, Mahmoud Aden Jama Galaal, during the inauguration of a new Somaliland office in Taipei, Taiwan, on Friday, which was inaugurated by Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister.
“We have the right to choose who we have relations with. It is our own decision, so the pressure efforts have not succeeded,” Galaal told reporters.
Somaliland and Taiwan opened representative offices in Hargeisa and Taipei in 2020, further strengthening cooperation in the areas of politics, development and economics.
Galaal said that all political parties in Somaliland are united in maintaining relations with Taiwan, and are not susceptible to political pressure from outside. He also said that Somaliland has not had any recent contact with the Chinese government.
The Reuters report noted that Somaliland has been self-governing since 1991 after declaring its independence from Somalia, and has enjoyed greater stability and peace than most regions of Somalia.
On the other hand, the Somali government has previously opposed relations between Somaliland and Taiwan, and in 2025 banned Taiwanese passport holders from entering Somalia, although it has since reopened them.
Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Francois Wu, said that cooperation between Somaliland and Taiwan has expanded significantly in the past six years. “Taiwan and Somaliland are two societies that symbolize democracy, freedom and the rule of law,” Wu said.
Reuters also noted that Taiwan has lost most of its diplomatic ties with Africa in recent years due to China’s efforts, and now only has full official relations with Eswatini.
