Somaliland wants to help secure the Red Sea
The president hopes this will bring international recognition for the would-be state
Irro, man on a missionPhotograph: Getty Images
Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi is an ambitious man. In December 2024 the 70-year-old former diplomat (pictured), who is better known as Irro, was sworn in as president of Somaliland, a breakaway republic that declared independence from Somalia in 1991. Last year he was the would-be country’s leader when Somaliland was formally recognised by Israel, the first nation to do so. “The world has been ignoring Somaliland for 35 years,” Irro tells The Economist. He wants outsiders to take a closer look.
Source: The Economist