The SOMALIA Story.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

NEWS. “Somalia Elects New President, but Terrorists Hold True Power.” And adds: “The militants of Al Shabab collect taxes, decide court cases and control the streets. Somalis ask, will a new government even matter?” Let me try to work around what/which really is Somalia. Officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, this nation with the longest coastline on the region’s mainland, is located in the Horn of Africa. The capital and largest city is Mogadishu.

       The Somali Republic is the name given to the sovereign state composed of Somalia and Somaliland, following the unification of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (the former British Somaliland). The Republic of Somaliland is a de facto state in the Horn of Africa, considered internationally to be part of Somalia. Uhh are we confused now? LOL!

       So let’s just settle with Somalia. Like other beleaguered and perennially in crisis nations in Sub Saharan Africa, I hope that the new leadership of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud leads the 7 million Somalis to better life. Mr Hassan was named in the Time 100, the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. 🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴

LET’s go straight to my usual line of discussion: How’s China doing in Somalia? China and Somalia have long relations in terms of trade, military, culture and language that predate the Middle Ages. In 2019, Somalia along with 36 other countries, have signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.

       But then, the following year, Somaliland established relations with Taiwan which also included the opening of representative offices in their respective countries. Confused about Somalia and Somaliland? I know.

       Anyhow, through trade, the peoples of both Somalia and China established good relations. Giraffes, zebras and incense were exported to the Ming Empire of China, and in the process influenced the Chinese language with the Somali language and vice versa.

       The Chinese exported celadon wares, spices and muskets in return for horses, exotic animals and ivory. Currently, Somalia’s top exports are gold, sheep and goats and other animals, insect resins, and oily seeds. China, however, is only the 5th destination of exports. Top 4: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Bulgaria. Though China is the country’s #2 importer.

       But it doesn’t mean Beijing isn’t active in Somalia. In 2007, the Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC also signed an oil exploration agreement with the Somali government over the north-central Mudug province, situated in the autonomous Puntland region. 🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴

SOMALIA and the United States. Somaliland and the United States do not have official diplomatic relations although they had historic relations under the Geledi Sultanate in 1776, when the then Somalia was the first independent state in Africa to recognize the United States as a sovereign nation. In those days, the two countries shared naval intelligence.

       The latest interaction was political. On May 12 this year, Larry André Jr., the American ambassador to Somalia, and General Stephen J. Townsend, Commander of the United States Africa Command met with Musa Bihi Abdi, President of Somaliland, in Hargeisa in what was described as the U.S not promoting the "secessionist ideology being pushed by Somaliland" in the context of the 2022 Somaliland presidential election and continuing the "single Somalia policy" while urging close cooperation between Somalia and Somaliland.

       Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is the President of Somalia. Musa Bihi Abdi is the President of Somaliland. I know it is confusing.

       A “better” discussion of Somalia/Somaliland and the United States can be ushered by the 2001 war film “Black Hawk Down” by Ridley Scott, based on the 1999 non-fiction book of the same name by journalist Mark Bowden, about the U.S. military's 1993 raid in Mogadishu. 🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴

Photo: The Intercept.