‘Born Free’: Somaliland Says China Can’t Dictate to It Over Taiwan

Somaliland's Foreign Minister Essa Kayd Mohamoud, Minister of Financial Development Saad Ali Shire, Minister of Livestock and Fishery Development Saeed Sulub Mohamed, and Minister of Planning and National Development Omar Ali Abdilahi attend a news conference in Taipei, Taiwan, on Feb. 11, 2022. I-Hwa Cheng/Reuters

TAIPEI—China cannot dictate who Somaliland can have relations with as it was a sovereign nation, the foreign minister of the breakaway Somali region said on Friday during a trip to Taiwan.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence. The region has been mostly peaceful while Somalia has grappled with three decades of civil war.