America’s Longstanding Support for the Sovereignty of Somalia

[Deeq A.]

From top left: The Prime Minister of the Trust Territory of Somaliland Abdullahi Issa Mohamed with President Dwight D. Eisenhower circa 1958; Prime Minister Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke with President John Kennedy. Bottom left: President Siad Barre with President Ronald Reagan; President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his wife with President Barack Obama and his wife; and President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and his wife with President Donald Trump and his wife.

Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — As far back as the late 1950s, when Abdullahi Issa Mohamud, the former Prime Minister of the Trust Territory of Somaliland, met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the United States has been a vocal supporter of Somalia’s sovereignty.

“Our intention is to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations — not just one, but all nations,” tweeted Dr Massad Boulos, the US Senior Adviser for Africa.

During the Reagan administration, the United States invested generously in initiatives to defend Somalia against communism. More than sixty years ago, the United States funded the construction of the National Teacher Education Centre in Afgooye, which later became the College of Education, responsible for training secondary school teachers.

Somalia is the first African country to benefit from MBA courses taught by faculty from American universities. Forty-two years ago, California State University, Fresno began offering a two-year MBA course at the former Somali Institute of Development Administration and Management (SIDAM). This was followed by similar MBA and MPA programmes delivered by the State University of New York at Albany from 1987 to 1991.

The United States also spearheaded Operation Restore Hope, an international humanitarian mission that saved millions of Somalis from a man-made famine.

The commitment to respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of United Nations member states is a cardinal principle of the UN Charter. It remains a cornerstone in the rebuilding of Somalia’s political institutions within a federal framework. It is also a bulwark against terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab and secessionist movements, both of which share the goal of undermining the hard-won sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia.

© Puntland Post, 2025

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