Exclusive — Somaliland President: ‘President Trump Is a Great Man,’ ‘Could Make More History’ by Joining Israel in Recognizing Our Nation

NEW YORK CITY — Somaliland’s President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known colloquially as “Irro,” told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that American President Donald Trump is a “great man” who can “make more history” than he already has by formally recognizing Somaliland as its own country. Somaliland, a partially recognized nation-state inside of Somalia, has been fighting in recent years to fully break away from Somalia over the corruption, terrorism, and piracy that dominate Somalia. Somaliland has won formal recognition from its first country, the state of Israel, which came late in 2025. While it does not have formal recognition from others yet, the partially recognized country has been building deep ties with the West in a significant way in recent years, positioning itself as pro-American and aiming to align closely with Trump in particular. “Well, I think President Trump is a great man,” Abdullahi told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview in his hotel suite in midtown Manhattan in late September. “He made history, and he could make more history by recognizing a new country called Somaliland, which will cooperate unconditionally in the fight against terrorism, in the fight against piracy, in the fight for marine security, and safer world trade routes as well, in a strategic, very important location.” Abdullahi said that the ports in Somaliland, particularly in the coastal city of Berbera, are able to handle major shipping companies’ needs and are already moving large quantities of goods. “Berbera, as I said, has a very strategic location, and now, because of the certain conditions in the world which now exist regarding the war, even some of the world’s largest shipping companies now use Berbera to bring their goods, and later they ship again to their destinations because of security reasons,” Abdullahi said. “So Berbera’s need and demand is increasing, and Berbera is a viable port that can handle large containers as well.” He also made clear he supports Trump getting the Nobel Peace Prize for everything he has done worldwide to end major conflicts, including the longest war in the world, which is on his continent of Africa — between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. “I may be on the record that I am the first African leader to refer the president for a Nobel Peace Prize, because so far for the short time he has been in office, he has resolved many conflicts in the world,” Abdullahi told Breitbart News. During his trip to the United States, while he has not yet gotten the U.S. to move towards formal recognition of Somaliland, Abdullahi said it was a productive couple of weeks in Washington and then New York for the UNGA. “We had a very cordial, friendly reception in the United States,” Abdullahi said. “We had a productive week in Washington, and met with congressmen. We met with senators. We met with the administration, including the State Department, the Department of War, the Department of Energy, and Department of Treasury. We also met prestigious institutions in Washington, and I have a speech here at the CFR in New York. Yes, we also spoke and met with different organizations in the United States and New York. We have met with some friendly countries, some organizations as well.” While formal recognition has yet to materialize, Abdullahi told Breitbart News that so far the “level of engagement” between the United States and Somaliland has Somalilanders “satisfied” for now. “Well, we are actually satisfied with the level of engagement we had in the United States now,” Abdullahi said. “We didn’t get the recognition now on the table, but hopefully things will move forward, and we make great progress, and we are satisfied with the level we have so far done.” He also told Breitbart News he sees ties between the U.S. and Somaliland—which already exist on anti-piracy, counterterrorism, and economic fronts — deepening in the coming years. Part of that, he argued, is the strategic use of Somaliland’s ports. “No doubt I see a great future cooperation of the United States and Somaliland, and it is not the first time that the United States is using the ports of Somaliland during an administration,” Abdullahi said. “They use it; they prepare a port as a base or as a facility, and before them, the Russians were using it. So we also see that Somaliland has the capacity to be a very large trade corridor to Africa, into landlocked Africa, including Ethiopia, which is about 130 million people, and many other nations beyond to East Africa and Central Africa. We can be a logistic hub for the whole world because now the importance of Somaliland is increasing, so it can be a very great logistical hub in the whole world.” Africa is increasingly seen by world leaders as a majorly rising region in the world, with hundreds of billions of dollars in outside investment pouring into a continent rich with natural resources — something Abdullahi is quick to highlight as a major opportunity for the world’s leaders. “Economically, $400 billion are now in Africa,” Abdullahi said. “So Africa is important for the United States, for Europe, and for great economic powers because Africa now has the highest resources in the whole world in minerals, in energy, in agriculture, in industry, so Africa now is the future.” The geopolitical significance of Somaliland, Abdullahi further argued, is only increasing with the rise of the Houthis in Yemen and with Iran’s intransigence in the Strait of Hormuz. “For 35 years we have been single-handedly securing our waters, which is very important for the world global trade,” Abdullahi said. “Only 100 kilometers from Yemen, Somaliland was always in a strategic location, but now, because of the problem in Hormuz, the problem in Yemen, Somaliland’s strategic importance is more important now, and the world is paying a lot of attention to our country, to our location, to our geography, to our patriarchy. So, Somaliland is very important for the world in general and for the world security, for water-time security, for the safety of world trade.” He said the counterterrorism ties between the U.S. and Somaliland are in discussion to deepen — and there is room for more economic ties. “We are already in discussion with the United States on cooperating with counterterrorism,” he said. “We’re ready to partner with the United States, and also Somaliland historically was fighting alone, single-handedly, as I said, against terrorism and piracy. I see there is a great opportunity for the partnership between the United States and Somaliland in economy, in trade, in security, in counterterrorism, in national security, and more.” Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as its own country, Abdullahi said, was a game-changer for Somaliland. “I think I can say that the recognition by Israel of Somaliland was the icebreaker,” Abdullahi said. “Now Somaliland is feasible to the whole world.” With regard to Gaza, he said Somaliland is ready to commit 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the Board of Peace efforts led by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff. “I think I have been questioned by one reporter about what we can do in Gaza,” Abdullahi told Breitbart News. “I told them we can provide 2,000 peacekeepers in Gaza. Yes, we are ready for that.” Abdullahi added that he wants Americans to know that despite the issues with Somalia, in Somaliland there is a bright future with endless opportunity. “For those who read, my message is that there is an existence of a very democratic, peaceful country called Somaliland, very strategically located,” Abdullahi said. “For the president again, my message to the president is that he can make history by recognizing Somaliland as a country, a democratic partner, a security partner who can cooperate unconditionally, fight against terrorism and piracy.” Abdullahi also wants Americans to know that Somaliland is not looking for handouts or government aid, but for opportunities for partnership in the future. “My last message is that we — as a Somalilander — we didn’t come here for a list of requests or aid,” Abdullahi said. “We came with partnership. Somaliland is not for aid; it is not for handouts. Somaliland needs partnership in trade, in security, and economic cooperation. I think Somaliland can be part and parcel of making America great.”