Political status and decolonisation

Somaliland: current status

Where the question stood on 22 September 2026: Somaliland remains an unrecognized de facto state, with the Ethiopia MOU diplomatically contested.

Reading time
1 min read
Published
Status verified as of

Suggest a correction

Status verified as of 22 September 2026. Political positions change; this explainer describes the documented position on that date.

Current position

Somaliland remains an unrecognized de facto state, internationally regarded as part of Somalia. The 2024 Ethiopia-Somaliland MOU remained diplomatically contested, with Turkey-mediated Ethiopia-Somalia talks over the matter having collapsed in February 2025.[1]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: On 11 December 2024, Ethiopia and Somalia signed an agreement in Ankara, mediated by Turkey, under which Ethiopia recognized Somalia's territorial integrity and sovereignty while Somalia acknowledged Ethiopia's interest in seeking sea access through lease arrangements under Somali sovereignty; however, subsequent Turkey-mediated expert-level talks held 2-4 February 2025 collapsed without progress amid continuing tensions over the Ethiopia-Somaliland port deal.

    • East Africa: Somalia-Ethiopia Talks Mediated By Türkiye Stall Over Somaliland Port Deal (AllAfrica) link, Ankara agreement and stalled talks sections. Source record

Source note

Show in the notes list