Irro tells foreign diplomats in Nairobi: Engage Somaliland as sovereign state, not extension of Somalia

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro urged Western diplomats on Friday to engage his administration as a sovereign, capable partner rather than an extension of Somalia, pressing the case for deeper international cooperation on security and peace.

Addressing the gathering of Western envoys, Irro said he had come to the meeting not with a list of requests, but with a record of results, laying out what he described as concrete progress in conflict resolution, militia demobilisation, road construction and public service delivery since taking office.

The Somaliland leader said his government had overseen the voluntary disarmament of 6,000 militia fighters in the eastern regions, who have since been demobilised and integrated into the region’s army. He said authorities had also resolved conflict between two clans in the Awdal region and a separate dispute in Sanaag, and that his administration was now working to settle tensions with Harti clans in the Sool region, particularly in Laascaanood, through what he called a Somaliland-owned peace process.

Irro accused Somalia’s federal government of interfering in that process, alleging Mogadishu’s interventions were undermining the effort. He said the federal government should focus on resolving its own internal conflicts and state-building challenges rather than what he characterised as attempts to externalise its problems onto Somaliland.

Beyond security gains, Irro pointed to road construction, hospital renovations and a cut in electricity prices – down from 0.9 cents to 0.59 cents – as markers of his administration’s domestic delivery. He also cited Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a diplomatic breakthrough and called on the wider international community to follow suit, telling diplomats his government was not seeking charity, but investment.

“Recognition is not the conclusion of our churning, it is the natural consequence of what Somaliland has consistently demonstrated,” Irro told the gathered diplomats.

The approach marked a departure from the tone typically struck by Somali leaders in donor engagements. Rather than appealing for assistance, Irro presented Western envoys with a ledger of achievements and signalled his administration’s intent to keep advancing its agenda with or without external backing — while making clear that investment, not aid, remained the currency he was seeking.

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