Somaliland Offers U.S. Access to Minerals and Military Bases

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Somaliland has expressed willingness to grant the United States access to its mineral resources and military bases, a senior official told AFP, as the self-declared autonomous region seeks international recognition.

In an interview on Saturday, Khadir Hussein Abdi, Somaliland’s minister of the presidency, said, “We are willing to give exclusive access to our minerals to the United States. Also, we are open to offering military bases to the United States. We believe that we will agree on something with the United States.”

Since declaring autonomy from Somalia in 1991, Somaliland has operated largely independently, maintaining its own currency, army, police force, and passport system. Despite its de facto autonomy, the Somali government in Mogadishu continues to regard Somaliland as an integral part of Somalia.

Somaliland has struggled to gain formal recognition on the international stage. Israel became the first and only country to recognize Somaliland’s independence in December 2025, a diplomatic milestone for the territory.

President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi has in recent weeks suggested granting Israel privileged access to Somaliland’s mineral resources, and officials have not ruled out the possibility of a future Israeli military presence.

Strategically located across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, Somaliland sits near key shipping lanes and areas affected by Houthi rebel attacks, which have at times targeted Israeli assets in solidarity with Palestinians.

Somaliland officials have identified significant natural resources, including lithium and coltan, which are critical for high-tech and defense industries. However, independent studies verifying the scale and value of these deposits are limited.

Analysts say Somaliland’s overtures to the United States and Israel signal a calculated push to strengthen strategic partnerships while increasing the international profile of the breakaway region, potentially reshaping geopolitical dynamics in the Horn of Africa.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Dec. 26, 2025 that Israel has officially recognized the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, marking a major diplomatic breakthrough for the self-declared republic that has sought international recognition for more than three decades.

He described the declaration as being “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements initiated under U.S. President Donald Trump.

“I announced today the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state,” Netanyahu wrote on X, adding that Israel plans to immediately expand relations with Somaliland through cooperation in agriculture, health, technology, and the economy. He also invited President Abdullahi to pay an official visit to Israel.