Somaliland President Expected to Visit Washington as Recognition Campaign Gathers Pace

By: Mohamed Duale

HARGEISA, Sept. 1 (Horndiplomat) — Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi is expected to travel to Washington in the coming days for his first visit to the United States since taking office, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported.

The planned visit comes months after Israel became the first United Nations member state to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, giving new momentum to Hargeisa’s decades-long campaign for wider international recognition.

Israeli journalist Roi Kais, reporting for Kan’s Reshet Bet radio, said Abdullahi was expected to visit both Washington and New York and hold meetings with members of the U.S. Congress and officials at the State Department.

“The hope is that he will also meet President Trump,” Kais quoted a source familiar with the planned visit as saying.

No meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump has been officially confirmed, and neither Somaliland’s presidency nor the White House has publicly announced the visit or released an itinerary.

According to the Israeli report, Abdullahi’s main objective will be to build on the diplomatic momentum created by Israel’s recognition and persuade other countries, particularly the United States, to establish formal relations with Somaliland.

The report said Israeli officials were aware of the planned visit and could assist Somaliland’s diplomatic efforts. However, the report noted that Washington has traditionally supported Somalia’s territorial integrity, while Somaliland is seeking to build stronger diplomatic support for its recognition.

Several influential regional governments, including Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, also continue to back Somalia’s position and oppose recognition of Somaliland, the report said.

Somaliland restored its sovereignty in 1991 and has since maintained its own government, security forces, currency and democratic institutions. Israel’s recognition in December 2025 marked the first formal recognition of Somaliland by a UN member state.

Abdullahi previously made a historic visit to Israel following the recognition decision, holding talks with senior Israeli officials on diplomatic relations and bilateral cooperation.

The anticipated U.S. trip would represent another major step in Somaliland’s effort to translate Israel’s recognition into broader international support and deepen its engagement with Washington on security, trade and strategic cooperation in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea region.

(Reporting by Mohamed Duale; Editing by Horndiplomat Desk)