The launch ceremony, held at Millennium Park in Kampala, coincided with an Iftar dinner attended by the President of the Republic of Uganda, senior officials, and members of the Ugandan Muslim community leadership.
This new company is part of the Salaam Bank group, which established the country’s first Islamic bank in 2024.
Delivering a speech at the event, President Museveni stated: “Welcome to Uganda, Salaam Bank and Tamini. This country is a growing market, currently home to more than 45 million people, a number expected to reach 100 million by the year 2050. You have introduced these services into the country at a very opportune time.”
Tamini General Insurance will provide insurance services that are fully compliant with Islamic Sharia, focusing on the principles of mutual cooperation, transparency, and joint guarantee.
For his part, the Managing Director of Tamini Insurance Company, Mr. Mohamed Bahdon, indicated that the company will operate based on three core pillars within the Ugandan market: transparent investment, economic development, and community engagement. Bahdon noted that this Sharia-based insurance system will offer accessible opportunities and will reshape the country’s insurance landscape, creating an economic framework aligned with Uganda’s development aspirations outlined in Vision 2040.
Finally, the CEO of the Uganda Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), Alhaji Ibrahim Kaddunabbi Lubega, stated that the Takaful system will bring significant transformation to the national economy. He noted that the country’s insurance assets currently stand at approximately 2 trillion Shillings, and he expects this new service to enhance investor confidence.
Athens, Greece – In a significant diplomatic development, the Government of Somaliland has received its first-ever invitation to the Athens Defence Summit (ADS), marking a milestone in its international engagement. The inaugural high-level conference, set to take place in Athens on May 20-21, 2026, will focus on the future of warfare and global security.
The Minister of Defence of Somaliland is scheduled to address the summit, presenting the government’s perspective on regional stability and security cooperation. This participation places Somaliland among a prestigious lineup of political leaders, military commanders, and defence industry executives from Europe, the US, the Middle East, and Africa.
The summit’s core themes—ranging from artificial intelligence in warfare to transatlantic cooperation—are particularly relevant to the Horn of Africa, a region grappling with maritime security challenges and shifting geopolitical dynamics. Somaliland’s presence underscores the conference’s dedicated focus on the strategic relationship between the West and Africa.
Organized under the auspices of Greece’s Ministry of National Defence, the ADS features a distinguished roster of international speakers, including former EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. For Somaliland, the invitation represents a pivotal opportunity to build new alliances and contribute to critical discussions on sovereignty and deterrence at a key geopolitical crossroads.
The Red Sea has never been just water. It is a corridor of history, commerce, faith, and power. From ancient trade routes to modern energy shipments, whoever understands the Red Sea understands a central artery of global stability. But in late 2025, something profound shifted a decision that could reshape the geopolitics of both Northeast Africa and the broader Middle East.
On 26 December 2025, Israel became the first United Nations member state to formally recognize the Republic of Somaliland as a sovereign and independent state a landmark moment that reverberated around the world.
For many Israelis, the Red Sea is not abstract geography. It is national security. The port of Eilat connects Israel to Asian markets. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait that narrow maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden determines whether trade flows freely or falls hostage to instability. When Houthi missiles are launched from Yemen, backed by Iran, it is not only regional actors who feel the tremors; global markets and Israeli security planners feel them too.
But just across that corridor of influence lies a different reality: Somaliland a region that has operated as a de facto independent entity since 1991 and now enjoys its first formal diplomatic recognition by a sovereign UN member state.
A Diplomatic Breakthrough Decades in the Making
Modern Somaliland traces its claim to statehood back to 1960, when the former State of Somaliland briefly existed as an independent nation following the end of British colonial rule. At that time, Israel was among the early countries to recognize that short-lived state, a fact that ties current developments to deep historical roots.
Since declaring its autonomy in 1991, Somaliland has built institutions, held competitive elections, and maintained relative stability all without widespread international recognition. Israel’s December 2025 step changed that calculus.
The Red Sea Is Becoming a Strategic Chessboard
The Red Sea basin is now one of the most militarized maritime corridors in the world. Gulf states project influence across its western shores. Turkey has expanded its presence in Somalia. China operates its first overseas naval base in Djibouti. Iran leverages proxies in Yemen. The United States maintains strategic installations across the region.
In this crowded environment, geography matters. Somaliland’s coastline stretches along the Gulf of Aden, just south of Bab el-Mandeb. Its port city of Berbera has growing strategic importance, particularly as global powers diversify trade routes and security partnerships. Israel’s long-term security doctrine has rested on proactive partnerships, not passive observation. From quiet alliances in Africa during the 1960s to the diplomatic breakthrough of the Abraham Accords, Israel has demonstrated that reshaping regional realities requires strategic imagination. Recognition of Somaliland fits squarely within that tradition.
A Muslim Democratic Partner in a Fractured Region
There is another dimension often overlooked in geopolitical analysis: narrative.
Somaliland is overwhelmingly Muslim. It is culturally Somali. Yet it has sustained multiparty elections, peaceful transfers of power, and locally driven peace building. In a region where extremists exploit governance vacuums, Somaliland’s stability sends a different message one rooted in local legitimacy rather than imposed authority.
For Israel, partnership with a democratic Muslim-majority entity carries moral and strategic weight. It reinforces the idea that cooperation is not confined to one cultural or religious sphere. The Abraham Accords demonstrated that normalization can transcend decades of hostility. Extending diplomatic recognition to Somaliland expanded that logic beyond the Arab world into the Horn of Africa.
Countering Destabilizing Influence
Iran’s strategy in the Red Sea has been asymmetric — supporting non-state actors and exploiting fragile environments. The Houthis in Yemen are one such manifestation. The lesson is clear: vacuums invite interference. Somaliland does not represent a vacuum. But its lack of international recognition limited its access to development finance, security cooperation, and full diplomatic engagement. By recognizing Somaliland, Israel strengthened a stable actor rather than react to instability later.
This is not about militarization. It is about strategic depth. Intelligence cooperation, maritime security coordination, agricultural technology transfer, water management expertise — these are areas where Israeli innovation could intersect with Somaliland’s development needs.
Redefining the Regional Map Without Redrawing Borders
Critics argue that recognition risks inflaming tensions with Somalia or complicating broader diplomatic balances. Yet geopolitical reality already acknowledges Somaliland’s separate governance. The question is whether forward-looking states align policy with reality.
Israel has historically shown willingness to challenge diplomatic inertia when strategic interests demand it. Recognition was not an act against Somalia; it was an act for stability in a volatile maritime corridor.
A Moment of Strategic Clarity
History often turns on decisions that initially appear peripheral. Few imagined that normalization agreements signed in 2020 would fundamentally reshape Israel’s regional integration. Yet the Abraham Accords proved bold diplomacy can alter entrenched assumptions.
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland may not dominate Jerusalem headlines overnight. But over time, it could redefine Israel’s position in the Red Sea basin, strengthen a democratic partner in the Horn of Africa, and contribute to a more balanced maritime security architecture.
<span;>frontier. It is a frontline of economic security and geopolitical competition.
If Israel seeks long-term stability along this corridor, it must look not only at threats emerging from the water — but at the partners standing firmly on its shores.
Somaliland is one of them
Mohamed Abdi Idiris
Analyst of International Affairs and Diplomacy
About the AuthorMohamed Abdi Idiris is an International Relations scholar and policy analyst specializing in geopolitics, foreign policy, and peace-building in the Horn of Africa. He serves as Director of the ICT Department at the Ministry of Information, Culture and National Guidance, Somaliland.as Program Manager at APICA. His work focuses on strategic diplomacy, international security, and global power shifts in a multipolar world.
Garowe – Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni has strongly criticized the Federal Government after a plane carrying Puntland MPs and civilians was barred from landing in Mogadishu.
In a speech on Tuesday evening, President Deni called the blockade an unconstitutional and inhumane act targeting Somali citizens, especially those from Puntland. He warned that such actions damage the credibility of Somalia’s federal system and risk destroying public confidence in the country’s air travel safety.
“This is a violation of human safety,” President Deni stated, announcing plans to file a formal complaint with international aviation authorities and human rights courts. He also made an urgent appeal to Somali political leaders and intellectuals in Mogadishu to help secure the release of the MPs, who remain stranded at the airport, so they can return home.
Garowe _ The Puntland Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports has revoked the operating license of Daallo Airlines, accusing the carrier of endangering the lives of Puntland citizens and officials on two separate occasions and violating civil aviation regulations.
The decision follows an incident today where a Daallo Airlines flight was denied landing at Garowe International Airport. The aircraft was transporting Puntland Members of Parliament who represent the region in both houses of the Federal Parliament.
This marks the second such incident involving the airline, following a similar occurrence on February 1st, when a Puntland delegation traveling on a Daallo flight from Garowe was barred from landing at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport.
Hargeisa – On Friday morning, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro joined hundreds of worshippers in Hargeisa for Eid al-Fitr prayers, seizing the opportunity to advocate for economic restraint and renewed peace in regions recently impacted by clan clashes.
In his address following the prayers, Irro cautioned that ongoing conflicts in the Middle East are disrupting global trade and shipping routes, potentially affecting food and fuel supplies.
“A war is currently underway that has affected the entire world. We are aware that it is now difficult for ships to operate as they once did, and there are obstacles along the routes they used to navigate,” the president remarked.
He urged business owners to act responsibly by avoiding unjustified price hikes, emphasizing that a significant portion of the population relies on traders for essential goods.
“There is a need to demonstrate conscience and patriotism,” he stated, calling on merchants to safeguard their reserves and assist in shielding the public from external economic shocks.
The president also addressed security concerns in eastern Somaliland, delivering a message of reconciliation to the communities in Sool and Sanaag, where recent inter-clan conflicts have heightened tensions.
“I urge the communities in the Sool and Sanaag regions to maintain their peace and unity, welcome the peace envoys, and cooperate with the security forces,” he said.
Eid al-Fitr, which signifies the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan, is one of the most significant religious celebrations throughout Somalia, including Somaliland, fostering communal prayer and reflection despite ongoing political and security challenges.
Hargeisa – Chairman Mahmoud Hashi, who condemned the attacks launched by Iran on the Gulf countries.
In a statement he published on his Twitter page, it read as follows:
“Speaking on behalf of the largest opposition party in Somaliland, the KAAH Political Party, I strongly condemn the attacks carried out by Iran on the Arab countries of the Gulf, specifically the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
These attacks are a clear act of aggression, which directly violates international law and the principles of respecting the sovereignty of nations.
We are particularly concerned about the damage inflicted upon civilian sites, although the losses from these attacks were greatly minimized due to the successful interception of most of the missiles that were launched.
The state of Iran has no legal justification to use as a pretext for an attack against neighboring countries with which it is not at war. This type of expansion of the conflict further fuels existing tensions and draws further hostility and enmity towards Iran.
Finally, I send my support and prayers to the civilian populations living in the Middle East, beseeching Allah to ease the hardship that has befallen them and to protect them from harm during this sensitive phase the region has entered.”
HARGEISA, Republic of Somaliland – NAGAAD National Women Network has convened a high-level regional conference aimed at developing sustainable strategies for the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The gathering brought together civil society organizations from across Somaliland, Somalia, and Djibouti, with the core objective of strengthening cross-border collaboration within the Horn of Africa. Participants focused on accelerating joint advocacy efforts and adopting unified, region-wide approaches to combat the practice.
A central component of the conference was the sharing of national experiences, lessons learned, and the diverse strategies each country has employed in the pursuit of FGM abandonment.
Delegates gained particularly valuable insights from the Republic of Djibouti, which shared its significant progress in this area. Djibouti’s comprehensive model—highlighting the successful enforcement of anti-FGM legislation alongside robust community mobilization and awareness campaigns—served as a key case study for effective, integrated approaches.
The conference concluded with the adoption of a joint communiqué. This document outlines a series of concrete commitments and defines actionable steps to guide collaborative efforts toward the total eradication of FGM across the region.
HARGEISA, Republic of Somaliland – President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Cirro) convened an emergency mediation meeting today between the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the KAAH political party to resolve a dispute that had stalled the electoral process.
The disagreement arose following the NEC’s recent decision regarding voter registration procedures—specifically concerning the number of registration centers—which prompted the KAAH Party to suspend its cooperation with the Commission.
Following extensive mediation led by President Cirro, both parties have formally resolved their differences. In a joint statement, the NEC and KAAH leadership expressed their appreciation to the President for his decisive role in facilitating dialogue and restoring consensus.
To ensure the continuation of Somaliland’s electoral preparations, both parties have agreed to the following:
Immediate Resumption of Cooperation: Formal collaboration between the NEC and the KAAH Party is hereby restored.
Technical Committee Formation: A joint technical committee will be established to address and resolve the procedural issues that led to the deadlock.
Follow-up Engagement: Both parties will convene a subsequent meeting after the Eid al-Fitr holiday to finalize all outstanding matters.
The resolution underscores Somaliland’s enduring commitment to resolving political disputes through internal dialogue and compromise, reinforcing the nation’s tradition of homegrown solutions to governance challenges.
BURCO, Somaliland – The highly anticipated Telesom Ramadan Cup 2026 officially commenced this week with a vibrant opening ceremony held at the Ii Cug Stadium in the heart of Burco, drawing large crowds of football enthusiasts and community members.
The tournament, which has become a cherished tradition during the holy month of Ramadan, brings together teams from across the region to compete in a spirit of sportsmanship, unity, and healthy competition. The opening event featured colorful festivities, with players, officials, and fans gathering to mark the beginning of what promises to be an exciting month of football.
More Than Just a Game: Telesom’s Commitment to Community Development
Telesom Group’s continued sponsorship of the Ramadan Cup represents a cornerstone of the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, demonstrating that its investment in the community extends far beyond telecommunications services. The benefits of promoting such sports events are multifaceted and deeply impactful:
Fostering Social Cohesion and Unity
During Ramadan, a month defined by reflection and togetherness, the tournament serves as a powerful platform for community bonding. By bringing together teams and supporters from diverse backgrounds across Burco and surrounding areas, the cup transcends clan lines and neighborhood divisions, promoting a shared identity and reinforcing the social fabric that binds Somali society together.
Empowering Youth Through Positive Engagement
With Somaliland’s youth population representing both a tremendous opportunity and a responsibility, the Telesom Ramadan Cup provides a constructive outlet for young people’s energy and aspirations. The tournament instills values of discipline, teamwork, and dedication, while offering a healthy evening activity that channels passion into sportsmanship rather than negative influences.
Discovering and Nurturing Local Talent
Ii Cug Stadium transforms into a proving ground for emerging football talent during the tournament. Young athletes who might otherwise lack exposure receive a rare competitive platform to showcase their skills, potentially catching the attention of local clubs and scouts. The cup thus serves as an unofficial talent development pipeline for the region’s football ecosystem.
Economic Stimulus for Local Communities
The tournament generates ripple effects throughout Burco’s local economy. Match days bring increased foot traffic to the area surrounding Ii Cug Stadium, benefiting small vendors, tea stalls, and food sellers who depend on such gatherings for their livelihoods. The influx of teams and traveling fans further stimulates economic activity in the city.
Strengthening Cultural Values During Ramadan
By timing the cup to coincide with the holy month, Telesom aligns its brand with the deeply held values of generosity, community, and discipline that define Ramadan. The tournament provides halal, family-friendly entertainment for evening hours, creating an atmosphere where families can gather and enjoy quality time together while celebrating their shared cultural traditions.
Building Lasting Brand Connections
For Telesom, the sponsorship represents a genuine investment in brand loyalty. The prominent display of Telesom branding throughout the stadium and on team jerseys ensures visibility among passionate fans, while the emotional connection forged through supporting community passion cements the company’s reputation as an institution that genuinely cares about the people it serves.
As the Telesom Ramadan Cup 2026 unfolds over the coming weeks, the tournament stands as a testament to the powerful role that private enterprise can play in nurturing community spirit, supporting youth development, and preserving cultural traditions that define Somali identity.
