Somaliland Representative to Taiwan Ambassador Mahmoud Adam Jama Galaal at the Diplomatic Quarter in Taipei on September 11, 2026. (Rti Photo/James Thompson)
Somaliland’s representative to Taiwan has described China’s attempts to get between the nations as “foolhardy” and urged Beijing instead to “live and let live.”
“We believe that nobody should be dictating to us who we are friends with, who we have relationships with, and so it’s China’s problem,” Somaliland Representative to Taiwan Mahmoud Adam Jama Galaal told Rti in an interview on Friday, September 11. In the wide-ranging interview, Galaal also discussed Taiwan-Somaliland cooperation, the progress of bilateral projects, and international recognition.
Somaliland, a coastal state in the Horn of Africa bordering Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia, has a population of around 6 million. It declared independence from Somalia in 1991, and Somalia continues to claim sovereignty over it. China supports Somalia’s claim over Somaliland and opposes Somaliland’s relationship with Taiwan.
“I think China is foolhardy in getting involved in this type of spat, simply because China has shown over the past decade a tremendous trajectory of growth and development,” Ambassador Galaal said, “and history has shown us that conflicts, even minor conflicts, can jeopardize that momentum.”
Galaal said Somaliland’s relationship with Taiwan is rooted in democracy, the right to self-determination, and an independent foreign policy. It would not be “prudent for China to get involved in politics in this way,” he said, because it poses a risk to China’s long-term development plans.
“I think they should remain out of it and accept peaceful coexistence, which we believe in, and, you know, live and let live,” he added.
TAIWAN-SOMALILAND COOPERATION
Taiwan and Somaliland opened representative offices in each other’s nations in 2020, and cooperation has since expanded across healthcare, education, agriculture, energy, maritime security, and other fields.
Construction began last year on a Taiwan-funded US$22 million medical center at Hargeisa Group Hospital in Somaliland’s capital. Galaal told Rti that building work on the Taiwan Medical Center is still underway and expected to be completed in around 18 months. He said he hoped that the Taiwanese expertise and relevant information transfer in the project could eventually be applied in other hospitals in Somaliland.
Galaal, Somaliland’s top envoy to Taiwan since January 2025, called Taiwan’s support for Somaliland’s democratic process “another crucial area” of cooperation. Taiwan helped fund 2,500 biometric voter verification sets in 2021 and further supported the nation’s electoral commission in 2024. Galaal said the two sides are already in talks over support for Somaliland’s next election cycle in 2028.
Meanwhile, nearly 200 Somaliland nationals are pursuing postgraduate degrees in Taiwan, according to Galaal. Taiwanese officials have also visited Somaliland and assessed its coastline as part of maritime security cooperation between the two sides, he said.
Galaal went on to say a Taiwan-linked U.S. company is currently “actively surveying and getting data together” on Somaliland’s critical mineral resources, while he has also had “a lot of contact” with Taiwanese businesses interested in the sector. Asked whether Taiwan’s push for so-called non-red critical-mineral supply chains factors into bilateral discussions, Galaal replied: “Yes, it does.” He added that he expected “a lot more in months to come on this subject.”
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Yet for all the practical gains from its Taiwan partnership, Somaliland is still pursuing something Taiwan itself has long struggled to secure: wider international recognition.
In December 2025, Israel became the first UN member state to recognize Somaliland. Galaal told Rti his country will continue seeking recognition from others and described possible recognition by the United States as a potential “game changer.” Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, arrived in Washington on September 5 for a trip that the Somaliland government says involves talks on recognition.
At the same time, Galaal pointed to Taiwan as evidence that “you don’t have to be a member of the UN… to move forward.”
“Taiwan has demonstrated with limited recognition, you can do a great deal,” he said. “A great deal can be achieved with the right governance, with the right policy, and with democratic values, I believe.”
Galaal also said the current international rules-based system was “struggling.”
“Smaller nations like us see the UN system as grossly unfair and something that needs change. And so, the UN system may not be that relevant over the coming years or decades,” he said.
Asked whether Somaliland was seeking recognition from Taiwan, Galaal responded by saying that the two nations “already have diplomatic relations” through their reciprocal representative offices.
Somaliland relocated its Taiwan mission to the Diplomatic Quarter in Taipei’s Shilin District in June this year, a complex that also houses embassies belonging to Taiwan’s official diplomatic allies. Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister François Wu (吳志中) described the newly relocated office as symbolizing the “staunch and cordial ties” between the two nations.
But despite formal diplomatic protocols, Galaal noted the missions have not been upgraded to embassies. Somaliland wants to continue improving its relationship with Taiwan, he added.
“I’m sure that this will happen in due course,” Galaal said, stopping short of making specific predictions on that topic. “It’s above my pay grade. So it has to come from the two sides,” he said with a smile. “I’m just a messenger.”
