Somaliland’s President Muse Bihi Abdi is expected to visit Qatar in the coming weeks as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to revive long-stalled talks with Somalia’s federal government, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
The visit, still unconfirmed publicly by Somaliland’s government, is reportedly being brokered by Qatari officials who have long sought to mediate between Hargeisa and Mogadishu. Dialogue between the two sides — which have no formal diplomatic ties — has remained frozen since the collapse of previous talks held in Djibouti in 2020.
Somaliland, a self-declared republic in the Horn of Africa, has operated autonomously since 1991 but lacks international recognition. Somalia’s federal government considers it part of its sovereign territory. Despite years of de facto independence, Somaliland’s ambitions for formal statehood remain diplomatically elusive.
Qatar, which maintains close ties with both Turkey and Somalia, has sought to position itself as a neutral interlocutor amid rising geopolitical competition for influence in the Horn — including from the UAE, Ethiopia, and China.
“Qatar is committed to regional peace and believes that structured dialogue between Somalia and Somaliland is in the interest of all Horn of Africa states,” said a Gulf diplomatic source briefed on the visit.
Officials in Hargeisa have neither confirmed nor denied the planned trip, but one senior adviser noted that “the door for talks has never been fully closed — what we’ve lacked is a credible channel and mutual respect.”
A successful visit to Doha could mark a turning point in a decades-long diplomatic stalemate. However, expectations remain tempered. Previous rounds of talks collapsed over fundamental disagreements on sovereignty, resource sharing, and international mediation terms.
For Somaliland, engaging with Qatar offers both diplomatic visibility and a chance to reshape regional perceptions. For Mogadishu, the risk lies in appearing to concede too much amid domestic fragility and federal fragmentation.
Qatar’s growing role in Somali affairs — once dominated by Turkey and the UAE — signals a shifting diplomatic chessboard in the Horn. Whether this round of shuttle diplomacy leads to substantive outcomes remains to be seen.
