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In brief

Somaliland rejects Uganda’s mediation offer to explore “unification” with Somalia

Self-proclaimed republic reiterates it will only discuss how the two countries “can move forward separately”

 
Museveni i Jama Musse Jama meet.
Museveni i Jama Musse Jama meet. Author: Office of the Ugandan President
The Somaliland government has reiterated that it will only talk to Somalia about how the two countries "can move forward separately" and that it has “no plans for dialogue” on the unification of the two territories. These considerations are contained in a statement issued by the Somaliland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, released after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni offered to “facilitate unification” between the two Somali-majority republics.

The Ugandan press reported that Museveni’s offer came after a special envoy from Somaliland, Jama Musse Jama, asked the Ugandan president to act as a mediator to achieve unification. Uganda’s State House has qualified these reports on its X (Twitter) account, stating that Jama Musse Jama had asked Museveni to act as a “guarantor of dialogue between Somaliland and Somalia on long-standing disagreements” and that Somaliland stood by its initial position of regaining full sovereignty.

Somalia and Somaliland became unified in 1960, after separate independence processes from Italy and the United Kingdom, respectively. Somaliland gained independence from Somalia in 1990. No state in the world has recognised the independence of the former UK colony. However, some countries maintain diplomatic relations with it, such as Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan.

Somalia seeks to hold talks on the “reunification” of the two countries under a federal model. Somaliland argues that the 1960 unification was null and void.