Somaliland posts envoy to Taiwan as it pushes for international recognition

Somaliland has appointed senior diplomat Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud as its first representative to Taiwan, according to a post on social media by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Saturday.

Mohamoud, a political scientist, researcher and political analyst, was named Saturday by Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi as the envoy to Taiwan, following an announcement in Taipei three days before that the two sides planned to set up reciprocal representative offices for the first time, according to MOFA.

“We warmly welcome President @musebiihi’s appointment of Amb. Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud as the #Somaliland representative to #Taiwan,” MOFA said on Twitter.

“A political scientist & senior diplomat, @mohamed Hagi will make a fine addition to the country’s diplomatic corps.”

Meanwhile, Mohamoud retweeted MOFA’s message, saying he was looking forward to working with Taiwan’s foreign ministry in the interests of the government and people on both sides.

“I am glad to make a fine addition to both countries’ diplomatic relations in #Asia, #East and #Horn of Africa,” he tweeted.

On Friday, MOFA said that Lou Chen-hwa a counsellor at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Saudi Arabia had been appointed as Taiwan’s representative to Somaliland.

Lou was named after Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on July 1 announced that Taiwan and Somaliland have reached an agreement in February to establish representative offices in each other’s territory.

Somaliland, a self-declared state in East Africa, is not recognized as a country by the international community and has no official diplomatic ties with any country.

Nevertheless, Somaliland has more than 20 representative offices in various countries, while nations and international organizations such as the United Kingdom, Turkey, Canada, the European Union and the United Nations maintain offices in Somaliland.