Arab News Japan

Tokyo: The self-declared state of Somaliland opened a representative office in Taiwan on September 9 in a push toward bilateral relations between the two, which both face a struggle for international recognition.

An unveiling ceremony of the office’s name plaque was held at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs in Taipei. The ceremony was reportedly not held at the office itself due to limited space, according to Focus Taiwan.

Taiwan and Somaliland agreed to exchange representative offices in February and Taiwan’s counterpart office opened last month in Somaliland. However, the two do not formally recognize each other as countries.

Due to pressure from the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan is only recognized by 15 countries around the world. Self-governing Somaliland, meanwhile, has yet to be officially recognized as a country by any nation, although it has about a dozen international offices.

“We both face external pressures, but are both proud of our sovereignty and ready to defend it,” said Joseph Wu, the Taiwanese foreign minister. “Taiwan is ready to work closely with its like-minded partner in the Horn of Africa.”

The Somaliland representative to Taiwan, Mohamed Hagi Mohamoud, emphasized at the ceremony that the bilateral accord was meant to strengthen relations in areas of common interest, including education, health, agriculture and energy.