Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — Somalia on Monday offered to renew a Cold War-era agreement granting the United States access to its ports and airports, a move aimed at undercutting a rival proposal by the breakaway region of Somaliland as tensions flare in the strategic Horn of Africa.
The proposal seeks to revive a 1980 framework that once allowed US forces to operate from facilities, including the deep-water port of Berbera, now controlled by the self-declared Republic of Somaliland.
“Somalia and the US have a longstanding cooperation framework, including a 1980 agreement on port and airport access for US military purposes,” Ali Mohamed Omar Balcad, the state minister for foreign affairs, said in response to questions.
“The federal government has recently offered to renew that agreement, which remains the appropriate and lawful channel for any security cooperation,” he added.
The diplomatic counter-offensive comes days after Somaliland, which has governed itself since 1991 but lacks widespread international recognition, pitched its own deal to the Trump administration.
Khadar Hussein Abdi, Somaliland’s presidency minister, told AFP on Saturday that the territory was ready to grant Washington access to its “mineral resources” and military facilities as it presses its long-running bid for statehood.
The diplomatic tussle highlights the intensifying competition for influence in the Horn of Africa, a volatile region commanding the southern approach to the Red Sea, where global powers have scrambled for footholds to secure trade routes and counter terrorism.
‘Exclusive’ access
Somaliland’s quest for legitimacy gained unprecedented momentum in December 2025, when Israel became the first UN member state to formally recognize its independence.
The move drew furious condemnation from Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland an integral part of its territory, and sparked warnings from the African Union that the recognition could destabilize the fractured region.
Seeking to capitalize on the breakthrough, authorities in the Somaliland capital Hargeisa have dangled the prospect of “exclusive” access to untapped mineral deposits, including lithium and coltan, alongside the use of the strategic Berbera port.
Berbera, located on the Gulf of Aden, sits less than 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Yemen, making it a prime location for monitoring maritime traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint for global oil shipments.
However, Mogadishu insists that any such arrangements are illegal without its consent.
“Somalia’s position is straightforward: all agreements involving Somalia’s territory, ports, airspace, or strategic natural resources must be concluded through the constitutional institutions of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” Balcad said.
Cold War legacy
Somalia’s pitch to Washington draws on a complex history of shifting alliances.
Following the Soviet Union’s decision to back Ethiopia during the 1977–78 Ogaden War, Somali dictator Siad Barre turned to the West for support.
The rapprochement culminated in the 1980 access agreement, which permitted the US military to use airfields and harbors in Mogadishu, Kismayo, and Berbera in exchange for military and economic aid.
Historical accounts show the United States spent millions refurbishing facilities at Berbera—including a runway originally built by the Soviets to accommodate heavy bombers—and used them for joint “Bright Star” exercises in the 1980s.
That cooperation collapsed after Somalia slid into civil war in 1991, prompting the US to evacuate its embassy and withdraw its forces.
While Washington has since rebuilt ties with Somalia’s federal government to combat the Al-Shabaab Islamist insurgency, its primary military hub in the region remains Camp Lemonnier in neighboring Djibouti.
Red Sea rivalries
The race to secure access to the Somali coast comes as the Red Sea faces renewed threats.
Since late 2023, attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial shipping have disrupted trade flows through the Bab el-Mandeb, prompting the US and European Union to deploy naval task forces to the area.
The US Energy Information Administration reported that oil flows through the strait dropped sharply in 2024 as shippers avoided the route, underscoring the corridor’s vulnerability.
Djibouti currently hosts bases for the US, China, France, and Japan, leading to a crowded security environment that some strategists argue limits operational flexibility.
China’s base in Djibouti—its first overseas military facility, opened in 2017—sits just miles from the American camp, a proximity that has long worried US officials.
Somaliland has sought to leverage this congestion, pitching Berbera as an alternative free from Chinese presence.
The United Arab Emirates has already invested heavily in the port through logistics giant DP World, and previously began construction of a military base there before converting it to civilian use.
Somalia’s renewed offer places the Trump administration in a delicate position.
Accepting Mogadishu’s proposal to use Berbera would effectively require US forces to operate in territory controlled by a government that does not recognize Mogadishu’s authority.
Conversely, dealing directly with Hargeisa risks rupturing ties with Somalia and alienating other African nations that uphold the colonial-era borders.
For now, Mogadishu is banking on international law.
The federal government’s offer “remains the appropriate and lawful channel for any security cooperation,” Balcad reiterated, signaling that the road to the Horn’s strategic ports must still go through Mogadishu.
