Ties between Taiwan and Somaliland are strong and cooperation is expanding, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said after receiving a delegation on Tuesday led by Somaliland Minister of Interior and National Security Abdalle Mohamed Arab.
Lin added that he hoped to personally visit the country to deepen bilateral relations.
On Monday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) hosted a luncheon for the delegation, at which he emphasized that Somaliland is home to Taiwan’s only representative office in East Africa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement today.
Somaliland Minister of Interior and National Security Abdalle Mohamed Arab, left, meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung, right, in Taipei this week.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Wu said he hoped the countries’ cooperation could serve as a model for Taiwan’s engagement with East Africa, the ministry added.
Arab came to Taiwan to attend the founding conference and first general assembly of the World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM) and was also scheduled to meet with the Ministry of the Interior, the Coast Guard Administration and other agencies, MOFA said.
On Tuesday, Lin met with Arab and his four-member delegation, and the two sides spoke about regional security and coast guard cooperation between Taiwan and Somaliland, it said.
Taiwan has been promoting bilateral cooperation with Somaliland in areas such as coast guard affairs, healthcare and talent development, Lin said.
Arab thanked Taiwan for inviting Somaliland to become a founding member of WADM and said that its assistance in healthcare, education and security has been highly beneficial.
Taiwan-Somaliland bilateral relations have continued to expand since the two countries established reciprocal representative offices in each other’s capitals in 2020, he added.
In 2024, Wu attended Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi’s inauguration ceremony in Hargeisa as a special envoy to President William Lai (賴清德).
He said he therefore felt a special connection to Somaliland.
MOFA said it would continue to advance cooperation with Somaliland under its “integrated diplomacy” strategy based on the three pillars of democracy, peace and prosperity.
