Somaliland said it had an inalienable right with whom it maintains diplomatic ties with, stating that it will stand firm and refuse to bow to pressure from China and Somalia as these will not change Somaliland-Taiwan diplomatic ties, according to Reuters. These remarks were made by Somaliland Representative to Taiwan, Mr. Mohamoud Adan Jama Galaal, while he was officially inaugurating a new diplomatic office established in Taipei city, Taiwan. The new diplomatic office was officially inaugurated by Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Farncios Wu. “We have right to choose whom we maintain diplomatic ties with. It is our own decision. Therefore, the pressure efforts by China and Somalia were unsuccessful.” Said Galaal, speaking to reports. Somaliland and Taiwan exchanged diplomatic offices by establishing offices in Hargeisa and Taipei respectively in 2020, while strengthening the bilateral cooperation in the areas of politics, development and economy. Mr. Galaal has announced that all Somaliland’s political parties have stood the same position on maintaining relations with Taiwan. Meanwhile, they are not susceptible to political pressure from outside. He also disclosed that Somaliland has not recently had relationship with the Chinese government. The report published by Reuters explicitly stated that Somaliland has been managing its own affairs since 1991 after it successfully seceded from Somalia, enjoying a period of relative stability and peace in comparison to most other regions in Somalia. Conversely, the Somali Federal Government strongly opposed the diplomatic ties between Somaliland and Taiwan. In 2025, Somalia banned the Taiwanese passport holders from entering Somalia, although it later reversed its decision and allowed Taiwanese nationals to enter Somalia. Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister, Francios Wu, said that Somaliland-Taiwan ties is rapidly expanding for the past six years. Wu stated, “Taiwan and Somaliland are two societies that symbolize democracy, freedom and the rule of law.” Reuters revealed that Taiwan has lost its diplomatic ties with most African nations due to the influence of the Chinese government, while it has a diplomatic ties with Eswatini only.
