Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Cirro) held a strategic meeting on Saturday with Major General Claude K. Tudor Jr. and a senior U.S. delegation visiting the Horn of Africa.
The discussions focused on strengthening security cooperation and advancing the shared strategic interests of Somaliland and the United States, particularly regarding the security of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and broader regional stability.
According to a statement from the Somaliland Presidency, the two sides held in-depth talks on the importance of safeguarding the region’s strategic maritime routes.
The statement emphasized Somaliland’s geographic significance as a gateway to one of the world’s busiest international shipping corridors.
Somaliland highlighted that it has more than 850 kilometers of coastline along the Gulf of Aden, making it a strategically important location for securing the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints.
President Cirro stressed that Somaliland should not be overlooked in regional security affairs, stating that any party seeking security cooperation along Somaliland’s coastline should engage directly with Somaliland.
The Somaliland Presidency’s spokesperson, Hussein Adan Ige (Deyr), said Somaliland is prepared to establish close and sustained cooperation with U.S. military and security institutions to strengthen efforts against terrorism, piracy, organized crime, and other threats affecting regional security.
For his part, Major General Claude K. Tudor Jr. said the United States and Somaliland share important security interests on both land and at sea.
According to the Somaliland government, the AFRICOM commander noted that stability in the Horn of Africa and the security of international maritime trade routes are priorities of mutual importance.
He also expressed the United States’ readiness to work with Somaliland on areas of shared strategic interest, including security cooperation, intelligence sharing, and the exchange of expertise.
The meeting concluded with both sides reaffirming their commitment to expanding cooperation on shared security interests.
The visit by the U.S. delegation comes at a time when the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa has grown significantly, particularly following Houthi attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the resulting disruption to commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
In recent years, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has assessed the strategic value of Berbera, where Somaliland has repeatedly stated its willingness to support security partnerships aimed at enhancing maritime domain awareness and countering threats in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea.