MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Qatar and China are intensifying diplomatic engagements with the recently-established SSC-Khatumo state in northern Somalia, in what analysts describe as a strategic push to counter growing influence by the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan in the breakaway region of Somaliland.
On Sunday, Qatar’s ambassador to Somalia held a closed-door meeting in Mogadishu with SSC leader Abdulkadir Firdhiye. While the specifics remain undisclosed, regional analysts believe the talks are part of Doha’s broader strategy to forge ties with the emerging northern Somali administration and disrupt UAE-aligned interests in Somaliland and Puntland.
Chinese diplomats have also previously held separate talks with Firdhiye, signaling Beijing’s increasing interest in the area amid heightened geopolitical competition in the Horn of Africa.
“China, Qatar and oil industry players have in last one year developed close ties with SSC – and for different reasons. Beijing keen to support local dissent to Somaliland, groom SSC as potential proxy to counter Taiwan’s rapidly growing relations with Somaliland,” said Rashid Abdi, a Horn of Africa analyst at Nairobi-based Sahan Research.
The SSC region, encompassing parts of Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn, is believed to sit atop vast onshore and offshore oil and gas reserves, drawing interest from a growing list of state and corporate actors seeking access to untapped energy resources.
“Qatar traditionally pro-Mogadishu, enjoys close ties with Islamist factions, opposed to UAE influence in Somaliland, Puntland and wider Red Sea arena. Other external state and non-state actors with stakes in oil sector also keen develop relations with SSC,” the analyst added.
Mogadishu, meanwhile, is exploring opportunities to monetize its authority through licensing and auctioning of hydrocarbon blocks, recently expressing interest in attracting American investment. SSC leaders, cognizant of their region’s economic value, are reportedly leveraging their position to seek formal federal status within the Somali union.
“Ongoing realignment in the North, thaw in Somaliland-Puntland relations largely driven by imperative to counter emergence of a new entity that weakens their contested hold over Sool and Sanaag,” tweeted Abdi, a political observer with knowledge of the evolving dynamics.
“It is almost certain that the UAE, which traditionally is more invested in Puntland and Somaliland than the South, is behind the scenes gelling Hargeisa and Garowe,” he added.
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