Somaliland’s Irro departs for US to pitch region’s strategic value as Somalia sends rival team

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro departed Hargeisa on Thursday for a working visit to the United States, part of an effort to present the self-declared republic as an emerging power of geoeconomic and geosecurity value to Washington and other Western capitals, with particular emphasis on the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint.

Officials said Irro will make a stopover in the United Arab Emirates en route to the US.

The Somaliland leader is expected to pitch his territory’s importance to Washington on two fronts: its rare earth mineral deposits and its proximity to Yemen and the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, a position officials believe could support a US military footing there and help counter threats from Houthi rebels.

Somalia’s federal government has moved in parallel, dispatching a delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Salah Jama on a counter-diplomacy push aimed at undercutting Irro’s Washington trip.

The rival missions have drawn attention to the family ties binding the two camps. “For those who don’t know – Jama is actually from Somaliland and Irro’s kin,” said Rashid Abdi, a Horn of Africa analyst at Sahan Research.

“Fascinating diplomacy,” Abdi added.

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