Why Somaliland Chose Taiwan Ties Over China's?
Was Somaliland’s intention for having relationship with Taiwan solely for photo opportunity and publicity to impress the world for few days? Or was it to seek sovereign recognition from her?
Somaliland has chosen this relationship with Taiwan for a specific reason, but so far the road to achieving that goal has not been paved yet, and the longer the matter remains in this way the faster the interest in it by both parties involved fades away.
China is a communist country waging a campaign of spreading its gospel through political and economic incentives backed by its check book that provides development aid as well as sovereign debt to third world countries, particularly Africans where it has implemented a numerous tangible project.
With the Chinese influence already in the Horn of Africa region – as it played a key role in rebuilding the Somali state and established its first ever overseas military base in Djibouti – China acted in a way that it had no clues on the Somaliland case, but eventually learned it in a hard way.
The Chinese government has made significant efforts to prevent Somaliland from establishing ties with Taiwan, yet Somaliland has insisted that its interests lie in its relationship with Taiwan, and – to avoid alienating China – has diplomatically gestured that it also welcomes any engagement with any other country in Africa or elsewhere in the world including China.
When making that move, Somaliland administration knew the weight of China and Taiwan in the world – in terms of technological as well as industrial development, economic power, military might, and international engagements.
Because of Somaliland’s close ties with Taiwan, China has become increasingly hostile to Somaliland, and many of its aid to Africa has not reached Somaliland such as the covid-19 vaccine of SinoPharm – which was made available to all African countries except those who are close allies of Taiwan in Africa as shown on the below image
On the other hand, Taiwan is definitely not a socialist country but a full fledged democracy has flourished there, that led her to a great development which other countries around the globe aspire to..
The unthinkable development of every aspect of life in that tiny island nation of Taiwan is an exemplary ingenuity that the world admires. The atmosphere in Somaliland is ripe for nurturing the adventure of setting foot on that path of Taiwan by replicating carefully one page of it’s template for success at a time but it looks that Somaliland administration has gotten stuck starring at the cover page of that blueprint not knowing where to start.
From the Somaliland perspective, the essence of forging ties with Taiwan was to tap into its capacities in countless areas including the maritime sector, provision of healthcare, sound economic policy and practices, and technological advancement.
If Somaliland needs to hold out big vessels for freebies – without taking any kind of action – like most African countries commonly do, it will make an extraordinary sense to switch the course and reconcile with China. Yet, if Somaliland intends to accomplish the same or in any event near the level of development as in Taiwan, it should follow the path of that advancement and gain from Taiwan. First and foremost, Taiwan government and its investment and business machinery are keeping an eye if basic foundations and steppingstones necessary for such development are taking roots in Somaliland.
Somaliland representative in Taiwan – H.E Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud – wasted no time in engaging with the private and public sectors in the host country. He has gone to quite several conventions and gatherings in Taiwan to advance Somaliland and highlight much-needed foreign investment opportunities in Somaliland.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s envoy to Somaliland – H. E. Ambassador Allen C. Lou – has been instrumental in illustrating Taiwan’s likely help to Somaliland, first prioritizing on grants offered by Taiwanese universities to foreign exchange students and then technical agreements in respect to areas where the two countries can collaborate. The mission office successfully held – for the first time – 2020 Taiwan Trade Fair in Somaliland exposing its products
At the time when Taiwanese ambassador reached out the Ministry of Education and informed them of the scholarships offered by Taiwanese universities, the ministry’s response in July 2020 was a press conference they held to spread the word. The second response of the ministry in December 2020 for the second attempt of the ambassador was still in the same manner again. Obviously, there is a lack of understanding on how to take advantage of the opportunities offered by this relationship with Taiwan. The ministry and the country’s universities should have come together to create the most efficient and easy way for Somaliland students to fully seize this opportunity.
The government alone cannot meet the country’s development needs, but it makes the filed even and creates the atmosphere and the trust that concepts such as development authorities, public–private partnerships, and trade and enterprise organizations would blossom – concepts that have already been tested in many countries around the world and delivered the desired goals.
Development authority – common in developed and developing countries – is a quasi-government agency, shielded from government interferences, planned to span well over the tenure of administrations, and merely established for achieving prioritized development goals. The main objective of the development authority is stimulating and facilitating the implementation of crucial social and economic programs.:
The Somaliland administration should be open to ideas that contribute to the development of the country, and always glean the best ones from the different platforms of the media. The traditional setup of government structures that used to be made up of ministries and agencies full of multilayered processes have been twisted for efficiency to include such concepts of development authority. Good candidates for such idea could be:
Agriculture and Livestock Development Authority
Fishing Industry Development Authority
Road Infrastructure Development Authority
Similarly, Somaliland Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture which was expected to be vocal and instrumental in fostering the public-private partnerships for current opportunity is completely out of sight. Public Private Partnership is a long term arrangement between state and private sector entities in which parties agree to collaborate in a mutual interest where a balance is struck between the profit for the private company stakeholders and the welfare of society.
On the part of business communities in Somaliland, they themselves slacking off – and instead of bringing their resources, knowledge, and ideas together – as spectators watching the game, not realizing they are part of the team. Trade and enterprise organizations are means or platforms by which similar businesses create collective lobbying power for promoting their products and services as well as for securing capital investments for their needs and growth by pooling resources and knowledge. A sound business practice that the Somaliland business community ought to adopt for the sake of keeping pace with the norms of global businesses.
The Taiwanese government strongly encourages Taiwanese companies with knowledge, resources, and technology to invest in Africa, which is still rich in natural resources. Somaliland should not assume that Taiwan is an isolated lone star and has no engagements with Africa, when in fact the field is crowded as the competition among African countries to win slices of her foreign direct investment is fierce.
Such Organizations and systems encourage the expansion of businesses and promote the growth of economy, which also contributes to the development of the country as well as facilitating cooperation and connection with the global business. Somaliland must take the courage and discipline to follow in the footsteps of Taiwan for success. It is imperative that the Somaliland Taiwan Forum be created in a transparent and collaborative manner, similar to those in the USA and Europe that safeguard Taiwanese interests in those countries.
Somaliland has a population of 3.5 million and an area of 137,000 square kilometers, which is 3.8 times that of Taiwan whose current population is estimated at 23.8 million by the end of 2020.
About the author
Ahmed J Yassin (SII Member)
Email: ajyassin4@gmail.com
Clinical Laboratory Professional